Talauma
(the vernacular name of the South American species). ORD. Magnoliaceae. A genus embracing about fifteen species of mostly stove, evergreen trees; three or four are natives of tropical America, and the rest inhabit tropical Asia and Japan. Flowers and leaves as in Magnolia; but the fruit differs in the fusion of its constituent carpels, and in the irregularly circular mode of splitting. The under-mentioned species are well worth cultivating on account of their beautiful and fragrant flowers. A compost of loam, peat, and sand is most suitable. Propagation may be effected by layers, or by inarching on some of the stronger-growing Magnolias. Ripened cuttings, with the leaves intact, will sometimes root if inserted in a pot of sand, under a glass, in heat.
T. Candollii (De Candolle's). fl. cream-coloured, large; petals nine to twelve, the outer one short; peduncles one-flowered, rather drooping, and, as well as the petioles of the younger leaves, clothed with rufous hairs. June and July. l. oblong, acuminate at both ends. h. 6ft. Java, 1828. (B. M. 4251; B. R. 1709).
T. C. Galeottiana (Galeotti's). fl. dull yellow, 3in. in diameter; sepals and petals narrower than in the type. l. 4in. to 7in. long, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate. (B. M. 6614.) T. Hodgsoni (Hodgson's). fl. creamy-white, large, terminal, solitary; sepals reddish-tinted outside, thick; petals six, the inner ones smaller. Winter and spring. fr. large; carpels sub-tetragonal, argutely beaked. l. ample, obovate-oblong, coriaceous, glabrous, the margins slightly sinuated. Himalayas. A medium-sized tree. (I. H. 1857, 141.)
T. Plumieri (Plumier's). fl. white, large, terminal, solitary; petals ten to twelve. All the year. l. oval-oblong, glabrous, 6in. long, varying in breadth from 3in. to 5in., coriaceous. h. 12ft. West Indies, 1829.
T. pumila (dwarf).* fl. cream-coloured, drooping, very fragrant at night; petals six to nine. All the year. l. elliptic, acuminate at both ends, smooth, reticulate-veined. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Amboyna and Java, 1786. The correct name of this plant is Magnolia pumila (A. B. R. 226; B. M. 977; L. B. C. 1555).