Named after the French botanist Pierre Magnol, the
large genus of Magnolia has a disjunct distribution in both Asia and America.
Known for the often large and showy flowers in white, yellow, pink and purple,
many species and hybrids are in cultivation. The flowers are primitive with
only tepals and predate pollinating insects such as bees and hoverflies and are
mainly pollinated by beetles and small animals. Magnolias are amongst the
oldest flowering plants and are known from fossil records.
Magnolia kobus from Japan (left), the slower growing
Magnolia stellata, and Magnolia x soulangeana a hybrid between two Chinese
species (M. denudata and M. liliiflora) with pink and cream flowers.
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