''Magnolia dealbata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Magnoliaceae
The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: '' Magnolia'' and ''Liriodendron'' (tulip trees).
Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), ...
, native to Mexico. It is known commonly as the cloudforest magnolia and ''eloxochitl''. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of ''
Magnolia macrophylla
''Magnolia macrophylla'', the bigleaf magnolia, is a deciduous magnolia native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. This species boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America.
Classificat ...
,'' which is otherwise native to the southeastern United States.
Description
''Magnolia dealbata'' is a deciduous tree, growing to average heights of 25 m tall. Larger individuals can reach 40–50 m in height. The flowers are large and white up to 20 cm long. The leaves are broad, reaching 60 cm length.
Distribution and habitat
This species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...
s in the
Sierra Madre de Oaxaca
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southeastern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Geography
The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a sout ...
of northern
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
in eastern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, where it ranges from 600 and 1,900 meters elevation. More than ten subpopulations have been observed, and the species' estimated
extent of occurrence
Extent may refer to:
Computing
* Extent (file systems), a contiguous region of computer storage medium reserved for a file
* Extent File System, a discontinued file system implementation named after the contiguous region
* Extent, a chunk of st ...
is 2,750 to 3,000 km2. The largest population includes over a thousand trees.
It grows in humid montane cloud forests, alongside '' Magnolia oaxacensis,
Pinus chiapensis
''Pinus chiapensis'' is a pine tree species in the family (biology), family Pinaceae, and is commonly known as Chiapas pine, in Spanish as pino blanco, pinabete, or ocote. Chiapas pine was formerly considered to be a variant of ''Pinus strobus'', ...
,
Quercus laurina
''Quercus laurina'' is a species of oak. It is native primarily to Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Chiapas) and has also been found in Guatemala and El Salvador.Liquidambar styraciflua
''Liquidambar styraciflua'', commonly known as the American sweetgum among other names, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central A ...
'', and ''
Clethra
''Clethra'' is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.
Populations identified as ''M. dealbata'' in the
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...
of Querétaro, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí correspond to more recently-described species including '' Magnolia nuevoleonensis, Magnolia rzedowskiana'', and '' Magnolia vovidesii''.
The species was once thought to be extinct until being rediscovered in 1977.
Etymology
The name ''eloxochitl'' was given to the tree by the
Aztecs
The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...
. It is derived from the
Nahuatl
Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...
word elotl meaning "green ear of corn", and xochitl meaning "flower".
Uses
''Magnolia dealbata'' is cultivated as an
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
, used as a flowering tree in
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
s. It is also used for timber, and as a traditional
medicinal plant
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...
for heart conditions, asthma, and stomach pain. The flowers are used as decorations for spiritual and cultural events as well.