Magnolia caloptila (Y.W. Law & Y.F. Wu) C.B. Callaghan & S.K. Png comb. nov.

Basionym.

Michelia caloptila Y.W. Law & Y.F. Wu. In: Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 4(2): 152, 154: fig. s.n. (1984).

Chinese name.

美毛含笑 meaning "beautiful-haired michelia"

Type.

CHINA. Jiangxi Province: Zixi County, Nangang, Matoushan, 450 m, in woods, 17 September 1980, Jiangxi gong-da linxue-xi (JXAU) 80069 (holotype: IBSC! + online image!; isotypes: LBG online images!).

Digital images of type specimens below accessed 19 March 2019:

holotype [IBSC: 0003281]: http://www.docin.com/p-1050989203.html (Sima 2011: 316, photo 2-58).

isotype [LBG: 00004082]: http://www.cvh.ac.cn/spm/LBG/00004082

isotype [LBG: 00004123]: http://www.cvh.ac.cn/spm/LBG/00004123

Michelia fujianensis Q.F. Zheng. In: Xia and Deng (2002: 130) and Xia et al. (2008: 83), both p.p. quoad syn. Michelia caloptila Y.W. Law & Y.F. Wu.

Michelia caloptila Y.W. Law & Y.F. Wu. In: Sima (2011: 234), p.p. excl. syns. Michelia concinna H. Jiang & E.D. Liu and Michelia septipetala Z.L. Nong.

Note 1.

Michelia caloptila Y.W. Law & Y.F. Wu was listed as a dubious species in Chen and Nooteboom (1993: 1088), in which it was noted that specimens had not been seen. It was subsequently reduced to a synonym of Michelia fujianensis as noted above. It is recognised as a genuine species by Law et al. (1996: 189), Liu et al. (2004: 228), Deng and Yang (2015: 167), Yang et al. (2016: 237) and Sima (2011: 234), wherein M. caloptila is in Michelia subsection Micheliopsis, series Micheliopsis and M. fujianensis is in Michelia subsection Velutinae . Differences between the abaxial indumentum of the 9-16 cm long leaves of M. caloptila and of the 6-11 cm long leaves of M. fujianensis are illustrated in Plate 3-2E ( M. caloptila) and Plate 3-3E ( M. fujianensis) of Sima (2011: 325; 326). Further substantiation of the specific status of M. caloptila is evident from a comparison of its morphological features with those of M. fujianensis, as shown in Table 1 on the following page.

The differentiating features of Michelia caloptila are cited from Law and Wu (1984) to whom the flower was unknown, Liu et al. (2004: 228)† and Yang et al. (2016: 237)‡, with those of M. fujianensis from Zheng (1981), supplemented by Law et al. (1996: 189)§ and Liu et al. (2004: 260)¶.

Note 2.

As a consequence of the above substantiation of the species status of Michelia caloptila, plus the past reduction to Magnolia of the remaining genera of subfamily Magnolioideae, Michelia caloptila is here transferred to Magnolia .