Magnolia oblonga (Wall. ex Hook.f. & Thomson) Figlar

Magnolia species are shrubs or trees. Leaves simple, alternate, entire, buds enclosed in large convolute stipules which are connate in pairs, where stipules are free or adnate from petiole. Flowers bisexual, terminal, solitary, Sepals 3-5, Petals 6-21 in 3 series. Stamens numerous, filaments flat with no or little interval between them and carpels, Gynoecium sessile, Carpels many persistant 2 ovuled with stigmas running along their ventral side, rarely more, fruiting carpels few, crowded dehiscing along dorsal or ventral suture, sometimes woody and circumcissile. Fruit with an elongated axis, seeds pendulous with a long cottony cord, 1 or more in each carpel.

Magnolia species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: February-May/July-October.

Seeds dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal or dehiscence.

A large tree up to 50 m tall, generally buttressed at the base of the trunk. Bark grayish, rough and warty, more or less plain and horizontal wrinkles on young trees, greenish below the corky layer, inside light brown with close reticulating streaks of dark brown, aromatic, about 2-3.5 cm thick. Leaves simple, alternate, oblong-obovate to oblanceolate, 8-16 × 3.5-6 cm across, base acute, margin entire, apex acute or shallow acuminate or shallow mucronate at the tip, coriaceous, shining, glabrous above, paler glaucous beneath, lateral veins 10-12 on either side of the midrib, almost parallel, impressed above, more prominent on midrib and prominent of veins beneath, reticulate veinlets, petioles swollen at the base, about 1.5-2.5 cm long, stipules narrowly oblong, generally as long as the petiole. Flowers bisexual, solitary, axillary, appearing with the leaves, white or cream colored, scarcely fragrant, on short annulate swollen pedicels, buds about 2-2.5 cm across, Perianth parts about 12, narrow obovate-oblong, apex truncate, 2.5-3.5 cm long, petals in the inner series smaller. Stamens about 50, filaments about 2.5-3 mm long, anthers, oblong, about 15-20 mm long, Gynoecium obovoid or ellipsoid, about 2 x 1 cm across, Fruiting receptacle about 15 cm long. Carpels sessile, elliptic-ovoid, lax, compressed, woody, about 20 x 12 mm across, beaked, lenticellate, speckled, seeds compressed, obovoid.

Susceptible to insect pests.

Evergreen forests altitude up to 1200 m.

Fairly common

Wood grayish white and greenish grey, fine grained with close uniform medullar rays, well prized for making furniture, planking and cabinet work.