Wufeng Red Magnolia

Wufeng Red Magnolia

Wufeng Red Magnolia is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Red magnolia, also known as Wufeng magnolia, was discovered in 2004 by a research team led by Professor Ma Luyi from Beijing Forestry University in Wufeng County, Hubei Province, and was officially described in 2006.

　　The main characteristics of this species are: deciduous tree, nine tepals that are nearly equal in size, uniformly red both inside and out, relatively long petioles, and densely distributed white soft hairs along the main veins on the underside of the leaves. These features are distinctly different from those of Wudang magnolia (M. sprengeri Pamp.) and Yulan magnolia (M. denudata Desr.).

　　According to existing research, wild populations of red magnolia are only sparsely distributed in high-altitude areas of Wufeng County, Hubei Province, with fewer than 2,000 wild mature trees. It has been listed as a key protected wild resource in Wufeng County, and all known trees have been tagged and protected by the Wufeng County Forestry Research Institute.

　　Magnoliaceae plants are among the most primitive groups of angiosperms and hold an extremely important position in the entire plant evolutionary system. The discovery of red magnolia adds another representative member to the Magnoliaceae family, which is of significant importance for the study of this major group. In particular, the highly diverse floral morphology and color variations of red magnolia make it an important model material for the study of flower gene differentiation.