Magnolia sprengeri

Sprenger’s magnolia is in the magnolia or Magnoliaceae family and is native to the provinces of Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi and Sichuan in China.

It is a small deciduous tree which can reach 20 m tall and is grown as an ornamental tree for its flowers.

• Tree is pyramidal when young, maturing to a spreading, dense, rounded form.
• Leaves are simple, obovate, dark green, 10–18 cm long and 4.5–10 cm across, with a 1-3 cm petiole.
• Terminal flower buds are evident before leaves appear in spring, and are 2.5-3.8 cm long, with a silky, gray pubescence.
• Flowers are on branch tips, about 15 cm in diameter, white to rosy red, with 12-14 tepals (like petals), emerging in March to April before the leaves.
• Flowers give way to an aggregate of follicles 6–18 cm long with red seeds that mature in late summer to early fall.