PRE 1993.
Tamaulipas, Mexico
Locality: Collected north of a cloud forest site near the hotel the collectors had visited previously, the Hacienda Santa Engracia in Benito Juarez (Santa Engracia).
Environment description: Cloud forest; this tree was half-buried by a rock slide.
Comment: [Excerpt from Fairey and Schoenfeld, "Mexican Magic", in American Nurseryman 178(12):79, under the heading "Magnolia schiedeana 'Bronze Sentinel' ('Bronze Sentinel' magnolia, zones 7 through 9)"]: "In January 1989, we had the pleasure of spending several days at the 18th-century Hacienda Santa Engracia. The owner arranged for us to explore a fascinating cloud forest nearby. This was our first exposure to the evergreen Magnolia schiedeana, the fastigiate southern relative of M. grandiflora. Two years later, in an area north of the original site, we happened upon another large, isolated colony of M. schiedeana. This colony is reputed to be the most northern population in existence, and some botanists think these trees could possibly be a new species. We noticed some differences--mostly in flower form and color, and leaf color--between the two populations we observed. While the southern colony had consistently pale green foliage, the northern colony exhibited dark green leaves with prominent, light green midribs. The flowers from plants in both areas were creamy white and slightly smaller than those of M. grandiflora, but they made up for lack of size with their exceptional fragrance; heavy petal substance; and elegant, incurved, sculptural form. However, the magnificent blossoms on the northern population had a more pronounced symmetry and creamier color than those of the southern population. The growth habit of the plants in both colonies was upright and narrow. On our second visit to this remote and hard to reach area, we found a mature M. schiedeana tree that had been half-buried by a rock slide. With closer examination, we saw that this amazing tree was recovering and flushing deep bronze foliage that was distinctly different from that of the other trees in the vicinity. We grew this unique form of magnolia from an air-layered cutting, and it is now thriving in our garden, continuing to produce new purple-bronze foliage that slowly ages to dark green." [Collection year uncertain; appears likely to be 1991-1992, or shortly thereafter.]
Collector(s):