Magnolias Plant Directory

MAGNOLIA campbellii ssp. mollicomata 'Lanarth'
Collected by George Forrest in 1924 from NW Yunnan Province, on the Salween-Kiu Chiang Divide in open thickets between 3000m and 3350m.
Flowers: lilac-purple-red; the stamens are rose colored.
March to April.
Foliage: oblong-obovate & thicker in texture than ssp. mollicomata, giving them a wrinkled appearance, 230-250 x 150mm.
Bark is grayish tan, twigs are smooth and tan colored, sometimes can become almost black.
Tall deciduous trees, 40m tall in the wild, 10-20m in cultivation.
Reproduces true to type, and has spawned a selection called the Lanarth Group. Mollicomata varieties bloom at 10-12 years old, half the age of the species, with larger, paler flowers. The species matures at 25-30 years of age, before that it sets no seeds.
Many consider this the most beautiful of the magnolias.