East Asian magnolias on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus

With thirty deciduous and nine evergreen species, Asia is considered as the main area for distribution of Magnolia L. s. l. For more than 150 years, the East Asian magnolias are being cultivated on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus; mainly it is Magnolia kobus DC., M. liliiflora Desr., and M. x soulangeana Soul.-Bod. As of the beginning of 2016, around nineteen species and a number of hybrid magnolias and garden forms are being cultivated in the region. With the exception of M. cylindrica E. H. Wilson, M. delavayi Franch., M. denudata Desr., M. kobus DC, M. liliiflora Desr., M. stellata (Siebold & Zucc.) Maxim., and hybrid magnolias, achieved with participation of these species (M. x loebneri Kache, M. x lennei Van Houtt. and M. x soulangeana Soul. - Bod.), other taxa are represented by single species. An introductory research allowed us to get an idea on the perspectives of possible introduction of East Asian magnolias on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Based on the results of a comparison study of M. delavayi Franch. stomatographies, its pink-flowered form, and M. carpunii M. S. Romanov & A. V. F. Ch. Bobrov, the last taxon was proved to be a separate specie. The climate of sixteen Chinese provinces, Japan and South Korea is similar to the climate to the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus; nineteen local magnolia species have good prospect for their future introduction in this region. Another promising group of fifteen magnolia species grows in the mountains at a height of 1000 meters. Based on our research, we can expect adaptivity of the introduced species to be quite high; fifteen species are recognized as promising for the future introduction, among them seven species with the biggest potential for introduction: Magnolia amoena W. C. Cheng, M. concinna Law. & R. Z. Zhou, M. dawsoniana Rehd. & E. H. Wilson, M. globosa Hook. f. & Thoms., M. jigongshanensis T. B. Chao & al., M. multiflora M. C. Wang & C. L. Min and M. rostrata W. W. Smith.