''Magnolia krusei'' is a species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

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), ...

. It 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 ...

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 ...

Description

''Magnolia krusei'' is a medium-sized to large tree, growing ups to 25 meters high with a trunk diameter of 50 to 100 cm. It is similar in appearance to '' Magnolia iltisiana'' and '' M. tamaulipana'', but differs from those related species in its smaller flowers and follicles. The seeds are spread by birds.

Range and habitat

''Magnolia krusei'' is known from one location in the

Sierra Madre del Sur The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. Geography The Sierra Madre del Sur joins with the Eje Volcánico Transv ...

of central Guerrero state, around Acahuizotla and San Roque in the mountains south of

Chilpancingo Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo; ; Nahuatl: Chilpantzinco ()) is the capital and second-largest city of the Mexican state of Guerrero. In 2010 it had a population of 187,251 people. The municipality has an area of ...

. A second population may occur further east in the Sierra Madre del Sur of neighboring Oaxaca state. Its known population has an estimated

area of occupancy Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-dimen ...

of only 10 to 500 km². The area of potential forest remaining in the area is 9,120 km². It is found in montane

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 dominated by

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s (''Quercus'' spp.) on soils derived from shale rocks between 1140 and 1600 meters elevation.

Conservation

The species threatened by habitat loss from forest clearance, including for illegal crops. Its known populations are outside protected areas, and there is no plan for the species' conservation. It is assessed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15492781 krusei Endemic flora of Mexico Cloud forest flora of Mexico Flora of the Sierra Madre del Sur Trees of Northern America Plants described in 2005