Vasilis Teodoridis:
Magnoliaceae | Manglietia
18. Manglietia fordiana Oliver; Hooker’s Icon. Pl. 20: t. 1953. 1891.
?? mu lian
Trees; to 25 m tall; to 45 cm d.b.h. Bark pale grayish brown. Young twigs and vegetative buds reddish brown pubescent; later glabrescent. Stipular scar semi-elliptic; 3-5 mm. Petiole 1-3(-4.5) cm; base slightly swollen; leaf blade narrowly obovate; narrowly elliptic-obovate; or rarely narrowly elliptic; 8-17(-20) x 2.5-5.5(-9.5) cm; leathery or thinly leathery; abaxially sparsely reddish brown pubescent; secondary veins 8-17 on each side of midvein; reticulate veins conspicuous or inconspicuous on both surfaces when dry; base cuneate and decurrent along petiole; margin slightly involute and wavy or not wavy; apex acute to acuminate. Peduncle 5-11(-40) x 4-10 mm; with 1 annular bract scar; with or without reddish brown pubescence. Tepals 9; 3 per whorl; white; outer 3 tepals slightly thinner; oblong-elliptic; broadly ovate or obovate; 5-7 x 3-4 cm; nearly leathery; tepals of inner 2 whorls obovate; 4-6 x 2-3 cm; usually fleshy. Stamens red; ca. 1 cm; connective forming an obtuse mucro; anthers ca. 8 mm. Gynoecium 1.5-2.5 cm; smooth; carpels 18-32; basal ones 5-10 x 3-5 mm; middle ones ca. 5 mm wide on exposed side; ovules 5-10 per carpel; styles inconspicuous or to 1 mm. Fruit brown; ovoid to ellipsoid-ovoid; 2-6 cm; mature carpels with dot-protuberance on exposed side; apex with or without a ca. 1 mm beak. Seeds slightly flat; 7-8 x 5-6 mm; testa red. Fl. Apr-May; fr. Sep-Oct.
Hills; forests; beside rivers; 300-1200 m. S Anhui; Fujian; Guangdong; Guangxi; Guizhou; Hainan; Hunan; Jiangxi; Yunnan; Zhejiang [Vietnam].
This species is used medicinally and for timber.