''Magnolia guatemalensis'' is a tree found in the highlands and mountains of Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. It is considered an indicator species of the cloud forest. It is known locally as mamey, a common name that is also used for the unrelated species ''

Pouteria sapota ''Pouteria sapota'', the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree is also cultivated in the Caribbean. Its fruit is eaten in many Latin American countries. The fruit is made into foods such as milksh ...

'' from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and the fruit tree ''

Mammea americana ''Mammea americana'', commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mamey, mamey apple, Santo Domingo apricot, tropical apricot, or South American apricot, is an evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, whose fruit is edible. It has also been ...

'' from Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Description

''Magnolia guatemalensis'' is an attractive tree, growing up to 15 meters high. It has tough glossy leaves, with red shiny stipules and sepals. The species is polymorphic, with leaves varying in size and shape, and sometimes lacking pubescence on the lower surface. It flowers from late February to late May. The species' flower petals are also polymorphic, varying in size and shape.

Range and habitat

''Magnolia guatemalensis'' is found in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Its exact range is not well known. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

was collected in Tactic, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, where it is locally abundant in the marshes. It is also found in Guatemala's Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve. It is found in El Salvador's Cerro de Montecristo National Park, and in the Opalaca, Montecillos, and Guajiquiro cordilleras of Honduras. Its estimated

extent of occurrence Extent may refer to: Computing * Extent (file systems), a contiguous region of computer storage medium reserved for a file * Extent File System, a discontinued file system implementation named after the contiguous region * Extent, a chunk of st ...

(EOO) is 45,000 km². It is native to humid cloud forests and moist mixed forests between 1,300 and 2,600 meters elevation. The species is threatened with habitat loss and deforestation across parts of its range, including illegal logging, human-caused fires, and clearing forests for cattle pasture and agriculture.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies: ''M. guatemalensis'' subsp. ''guatemalensis'', endemic to Guatemala; and ''M. guatemalensis'' subsp. ''hondurensis'', commonly known as the Honduran magnolia, native to El Salvador and Honduras. Both subspecies have been assessed as endangered by the IUCN.The Red List of Magnoliaceae

Cultivation

This species has been successfully hybridized with the Southern magnolia ('' M. grandiflora'').

References

External links

ParksWatch Guatemala
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3926623 Plants described in 1909 Trees of Guatemala Trees of El Salvador Trees of Honduras Trees of Mexico guatemalensis Trees of Chiapas Cloud forest flora of Mexico Flora of the Central American montane forests