Three New Names and a New Combination in Magnolia (Magnoliaceae) from China, Costa Rica and Ecuador

Abstract

Under the broad generic concept of Magnolia adopted by POWO and many recent treatments, the flowering plant family Magnoliaceae comprises two monogeneric subfamilies, Liriodendroideae and Magnolioideae, represented by Liriodendron L. and Magnolia L., respectively. Accordingly, two further Chinese species currently placed in the segregate genera Michelia and Lirianthe are herein formally transferred to Magnolia. They are the 2021 described and published Michelia retusa from Hainan, which retains its specific epithet when transferred to Magnolia, and the 2023 described and published Lirianthe jingxiensis from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which is given the proposed replacement name of Magnolia bandanensis to avoid the creation of a later illegitimate homonym when it is transferred to Magnolia. Also, as Magnolia multinervia and M. napoensis, described as new species in 2012 and 2019 respectively, are illegitimate later homonyms of existing fossil names, the necessary two replacement names M. limonensis and M. misahualliensis are proposed for these neotropical Central and South American Magnolia species.