New varieties of Magnolia biondii and Magnolia cylindrica (Magnoliaceae) in China

Magnolia biondii var. purpurascens var. nov. and Magnolia cylindrica var. purpurascens var. nov. (Magnoliaceae) are described as two new varieties endemic to China. Magnolia biondii var. purpurascens is mainly restricted to forests of Shaanxi and SE Gansu provinces. It differs from the typical variety, M. biondii var. biondii, in the dense indumentum of white hairs on twigs and the cup-shaped purplish red flowers. Magnolia cylindrica var. purpurascens occurs in secondary forests of Jingning and Songyang counties of southern Zhejiang province. It differs from the typical variety, M. cylindrica var. cylindrica, in the cup-shaped flowers of purplish red colour. The two new varieties are distinct in their distributions in both cases but share the chromosome numbers with their typical varieties. Magnolia biondii var. purpurascens is a diploid with 2n = 38, whereas M. cylindrica var. purpurascens is a tetraploid with 2n = 76.