Michelia doltsopa
Buch.-Ham. ex DC., Syst. Nat. 1: 448. 1818 & Prodr. 1: 79.
1824. Magnolia excelsa Wallich, Tent. Fl. Nep. 5: t.2. 1824. Michelia excelsa (Wallich)
Blume, Fl. Jav. 9. 1828; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 43. 1872. Michelia
manipurensis Watt ex Brandis, Indian Trees 8. 1905. Michelia calcuttensis Parment. in
Bull. Soc. Fr. Belg. 27: 213, 282. 1896.
Asm.: Sopa; Kh,.: Dieng-rai,ยท Nep.: Pulney-champ, Seto-champ, Rani-champ.
Trees, 16 - 25 m tall, deciduous; bark dark grey, corky with irregular lines of thick tentice1s; branchlets densely ferruginous tomentose; buds greyish-brown sericeous. Leaves ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, cuneate to slightly rounded at base, acute to acuminate at apex, 15 - 29 x 5 - 9 cm, thinly coriaceous, glabrous and shiny above, glaucous and minutely pubescent beneath; lateral nerves 7 - 10 pairs, arched; tertiaries closely reticulate; petioles 2 - 3 cm long, glabrous; stipules oblong-acuminate, 4 - 5 cm long, silky outside; stipular scars 5 - 7 mm long. Flowers axillary, sometimes spuriously terminal, faintly scented, white, ca 10 - 13 cm across when fully open; buds lanceolate, apiculate, ca 3.5 cm long, silky outside; bracts 2, spathaceous, oblong-ovate, 4 - 6 x 2 - 3 cm; pedicels 4 - 8 mm long. Perianth parts 12, obovate to spathulate, 5 - 6 X 2 - 3.5 cm, white, outer ones larger, gradually narrower towards centre. Stamens 50 - 80, yellowish; filaments short; anthers up to 1 cm long; connective produced into short appendage. Gynoecium stipitate; stalk 5 - 8 mm long; carpels 40 - 60, ca 1.5 x 1 mm, minutely tomentose; ovules 2 - 4 in each carpel; style recurved. Fruiting receptacles elongate, up to 15 cm long; ripe carpels obliquely ovoid, slightly compressed, shortly beaked, ca 1.5 x 1 x 0.6 cm, ventrally dehiscent, lenticellate. Seeds 1 - 2, compressed, faceted, red, oily.
Fl. & Fr. March - Oct.
Distrib. India: E. and N.E. regions, evergreen subtropical forests, 1000 - 2500 m. West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya.
Endemic.
Notes. The timber is remarkably durable and suitable for furniture and plankings.
Trees, 16 - 25 m tall, deciduous; bark dark grey, corky with irregular lines of thick tentice1s; branchlets densely ferruginous tomentose; buds greyish-brown sericeous. Leaves ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, cuneate to slightly rounded at base, acute to acuminate at apex, 15 - 29 x 5 - 9 cm, thinly coriaceous, glabrous and shiny above, glaucous and minutely pubescent beneath; lateral nerves 7 - 10 pairs, arched; tertiaries closely reticulate; petioles 2 - 3 cm long, glabrous; stipules oblong-acuminate, 4 - 5 cm long, silky outside; stipular scars 5 - 7 mm long. Flowers axillary, sometimes spuriously terminal, faintly scented, white, ca 10 - 13 cm across when fully open; buds lanceolate, apiculate, ca 3.5 cm long, silky outside; bracts 2, spathaceous, oblong-ovate, 4 - 6 x 2 - 3 cm; pedicels 4 - 8 mm long. Perianth parts 12, obovate to spathulate, 5 - 6 X 2 - 3.5 cm, white, outer ones larger, gradually narrower towards centre. Stamens 50 - 80, yellowish; filaments short; anthers up to 1 cm long; connective produced into short appendage. Gynoecium stipitate; stalk 5 - 8 mm long; carpels 40 - 60, ca 1.5 x 1 mm, minutely tomentose; ovules 2 - 4 in each carpel; style recurved. Fruiting receptacles elongate, up to 15 cm long; ripe carpels obliquely ovoid, slightly compressed, shortly beaked, ca 1.5 x 1 x 0.6 cm, ventrally dehiscent, lenticellate. Seeds 1 - 2, compressed, faceted, red, oily.
Fl. & Fr. March - Oct.
Distrib. India: E. and N.E. regions, evergreen subtropical forests, 1000 - 2500 m. West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya.
Endemic.
Notes. The timber is remarkably durable and suitable for furniture and plankings.
