Table 3.
Differentiating features of Michelia hunanensis, M. maudiae and M. cavaleriei.
| Plant feature | Michelia hunanensis C.L. Peng & L.H. Yan | Michelia maudiae Dunn | Michelia cavaleriei Finet & Gagnep. |
| maximum height | 20 m | 31 m§ | 10 m¶¶ |
| indumentum of buds | greyish-pilose | glabrous (covered with white powder††) | silver-grey or rufous appressed pilose¶¶ |
| leaf shape | oblong or broadly oblong | oblong-elliptic or occasionally ovate-elliptic†† | narrowly oblanceolate-oblong or narrowly oblong¶¶ |
| leaf dimensions | 13–33 × 6–9 cm | 7–18 × 3.5–8.5 cm†† | 10–20 × 3.5–6.5 cm¶¶ |
| leaf apex | cuspidate | obtuse acuminate (occasionally long-acuminate†) | acuminate or short-acute¶¶ |
| leaf base | rounded or obtuse | acute or cuneate | cuneate or broadly cuneate¶¶ |
| undersides of leaves | greyish pubescent | glabrous, as is the entire plant††, except for the silky grey pubescent stamens# | glaucous and silver-grey or rufous appressed pilose when young¶¶) |
| lateral leaf veins | 8–14 pairs | 8–12 pairs | 11–15 pairs§§ |
| petiole length and indumentum | 2–3.5 cm, pilose | 2.5–3 cm, glabrous (1–3 cm‡‡) | 2 cm, puberulus (0.7–1.5 cm)##, silver-grey or rufous appressed pilose¶¶ |
| tepal number | 9 | 9–11‡‡ | 10–12## |
| tepal shape and size (outer 3) | obovate, 6–7 cm long (width not specified) |
obovate, 5–7 × 3.5–4 cm†† |
obovate-elliptic (2.5–4 cm long¶¶) |
| tepal shape and size (inner 3) | obovate-lanceolate, 4–4.8 × 1.2–1.4 cm | obovate, elliptic to broadly spathulate, 4.5–5 × 1.8–2.5 cm† | obovate-elliptic, 2.5 × 1.5 cm |
| length of stamens | ca. 1cm | 1.5–2.2 cm¶ | 1.2–1.4 cm§§ |
| gynoecium length, shape and indumentum | 1 cm, cylindric, pubescent | 1.5–1.8 cm (1.0–1.3 cm, subcylindric†), glabrous | 1 cm, narrowly ovate, with a few hairs only near the carpel apex |
| gynophore length | 5–8 mm | ca. 10 mm | ca. 4 mm§§ |
| fruit aggregate length | 8–17 cm | 10–12(–14) cm† | 5–10 cm¶¶ |
| flowering period | March–April | January–March†† | March§§, ¶¶ |
| fruiting period | August–September | October–November†† | September–October§§,¶¶ |
The distinguishing features of Michelia hunanensis are cited from Peng et al. (1995). Those of M. maudiae are cited from Dunn (1908), supplemented by Chen and Nooteboom (1993:1072)†, Deng and Yang (2015: 157)§, Law et al. (1996: 179)¶, Lee (1935: 487)#, Liu et al. (2004: 290)†† and Yang et al. (2016: 295)‡‡, with those of M. cavaleriei from Finet and Gagnepain (1906), supplemented by Law et al. (1996: 184)§§, Liu et al. (2004: 229)¶¶ and Yang et al. (2016: 239)##.