Magnolia splendens

Botanical Description

Magnolia splendens is an evergreen tree with a narrow crown; it can grow up to 23 metres tall. The bole can be 120cm or more in diameter[ 447 Title Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Publication Author Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. Publisher USDA, Forest Service; Washington. Year 1964 ISBN Description Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species. ]. The tree yields an attractive and high quality timber and is widely harvested from the wild for local use. It is possibly suitable as an ornamental[ 447 Title Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Publication Author Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. Publisher USDA, Forest Service; Washington. Year 1964 ISBN Description Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species. ]. This species has not been evaluated in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, it is only found in the mountains of Porto Rico, growing in a forest where the growth rate is very slow. The larger trees of the forest are undoubtedly many centuries old. This, plus the fact that propagation for planting elsewhere is difficult because most seeds apparently are sterile, greatly limits the future of this tree. The species will always be preserved within a formally established natural area within the Luquillo Forest, and young trees are being encouraged wherever they appear naturally. Nevertheless, in most areas the old overmature trees are being cut down more rapidly than they are being replaced by nature[ 447 Title Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Publication Author Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. Publisher USDA, Forest Service; Washington. Year 1964 ISBN Description Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species. ].