What kind of woody plant is the southern magnolia?

Little Facts About the Southern Magnolia

The southern magnolia belongs to the Magnoliaceae family and is also known as the foreign magnolia and the lotus magnolia. The southern magnolia is an evergreen tree with thick leathery leaves, large and fragrant flowers, a majestic and magnificent tree form, a relatively precious tree species, and a long lifespan. This tree is planted relatively widely in Kunshan. The character "Guang" implies Kunshan's broad-mindedness and tolerance in embracing all rivers and learning from others' strengths; the character "Yu" implies the city character of "Kunshan has jade, and the jade lies in its people"; the character "Lan" implies Kunqu Opera, the "ancestor of a hundred operas", this "orchid of the opera garden". And these three characters basically belong to open-mouth sounds, with beautiful tones.

Morphological Characteristics of the Southern Magnolia

The southern magnolia is a large evergreen tree, 20-30 m tall. The bark is light brown or gray, cracking in thin scales. Branches and buds have rusty-colored fine hairs. Leaves are long elliptical, alternate; petioles are 1.5-4 cm long, with brown short pubescence on the underside; stipules are separate from the petiole; leaves are leathery, the blade elliptical or obovate-oblong, 10-20 cm long and 4-10 cm wide, the apex blunt or acuminate, the base cuneate, dark green and glossy above, light green below with rusty-colored fine hairs, with 8-9 pairs of lateral veins. Flowers are fragrant, white, cup-shaped, 15-20 cm in diameter, shaped like a lotus when open; the pedicel is sturdy and has downy hairs; tepals are 9-12, obovate, thick and fleshy; stamens are numerous, about 2 cm long, the filaments flat, purple, the anthers introrse, the connective extending into a short pointed tip; the gynoecium is elliptical, densely covered with long villous hairs, the carpels ovate, 1-1.5 cm long, the style curled. The aggregate fruit is cylindric-oblong or ovate, densely covered with brown or grayish-yellow villous hairs, the fruit apex having a long beak. Seeds are elliptical or ovate, laterally flattened, about 1.4 cm long and about 6 mm wide.

Growth Habits of the Southern Magnolia

The southern magnolia likes light when growing, and is slightly shade-tolerant when young. It likes a warm and humid climate and has a certain cold resistance. It is suitable for growing in dry, fertile, moist, and well-drained slightly acidic or neutral soil; when planted in alkaline soil, it is prone to yellowing, and it dislikes waterlogging and poor drainage. It has strong resistance to smoke, dust, and sulfur dioxide gas, and has few pests and diseases. Its root system is deep and extensive, and its wind resistance is strong. In particular, seed-grown seedlings have straight trunks, a majestic tree form, and strong adaptability.

Origin and Distribution of the Southern Magnolia

The southern magnolia is native to South America and is distributed in North America as well as the Yangtze River basin and areas south of it in mainland China; in northern places such as Beijing and Lanzhou, it has already been introduced and cultivated artificially. It is the city tree of Changzhou City, Nantong City, and Lianyungang City in Jiangsu Province, Hefei City in Anhui Province, and Yuyao City in Zhejiang Province. It is also relatively common in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou in the Yangtze River basin.