''Magnolia sieboldii'', or Siebold's magnolia, also known as Korean mountain magnolia and Oyama magnolia, is a species of ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

'' native to east

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. It is named after the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

doctor

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

(1796–1866).

Description

''Magnolia sieboldii'' is a large

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub or small tree tall. The stalks, young leaves, young twigs and young buds are downy. The leaves are elliptical to ovate-oblong, 9–16 cm (rarely 25 cm) long and 4–10 cm (rarely 12 cm) broad, with a 1.5-4.5 cm petiole. The flowers, unlike the spring flowering magnolias, open primarily in the early summer, but continue intermittently until late summer. They are pendulous, cup-shaped, 7–10 cm diameter, and have 6-12

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s, the outer three smaller, the rest larger, and pure white; the

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

s are greenish and the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s reddish-purple or greenish-white.

Subspecies

There are three

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: *''Magnolia sieboldii'' subsp. ''japonica''. Japan. Low shrub; flowers with 6 tepals and greenish-white stamens. *''Magnolia sieboldii'' subsp. ''sieboldii''. Japan, Korea, eastern China. Tree or large shrub; flowers with 9-12 tepals and reddish-purple stamens; leaves smaller, rarely over 16 cm. *''Magnolia sieboldii'' subsp. ''sinensis''. Southwestern China (

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

); flowers as subsp. ''sieboldii''; leaves larger, commonly to 22 cm. File:Magnolia sieboldii bud.jpg, Flower bud File:Magnolia sieboldii flower 1.jpg, Flower, male phase File:Magnolia sieboldii flower 2.jpg, Flower File:Magnolia sieboldii flower detail.jpg, Flower detail File:Magnolia sieboldii (Siebold Magnolia) (35675925030).jpg, Immature fruit File:Magnolia sieboldii fruit.jpg, Nearly mature fruit

Cultivation

''Magnolia sieboldii'' is grown as an ornamental tree in gardens. It is one of the hardiest magnolias, successful in cultivation as far north as

Arboretum Mustila Arboretum Mustila is an arboretum near Elimäki in southern Finland. The arboretum was founded in 1902 and is today maintained by a trust. At its inception it was intended as a testing ground for foreign species of conifers. Today it contains sl ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The cultivar 'Colossus' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. Called ''mongnan'' or ''mokran'' (목란/), Siebold's magnolia is the national flower of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

References

*Hunt, D. (ed). (1998). ''Magnolias and their allies''. International Dendrology Society and Magnolia Society.
Flora of China: Magnoliaceae (draft account)

External links

* * Friedman, William (Ned). '
Oyama magnolia in full bloom."
' ''Posts from the Collections'', Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, June 12, 2016. Accessed 1 October 2019.
''Magnolia sieboldii'' images at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Plant Image Database.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1378390 sieboldii Flora of China Flora of Eastern Asia Trees of China Trees of Japan Trees of Korea National symbols of North Korea Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees