What else is the Southern magnolia called? Let us introduce you to its other names

A little knowledge about the Southern magnolia

The Southern magnolia belongs to the Magnoliaceae family and is also called foreign magnolia or 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 fairly widely in Kunshan. The character "Guang" implies Kunshan's broad-mindedness and bearing in embracing all rivers and drawing on the strengths of many; 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 oblong-elliptic, alternate; petioles are 1.5-4 cm long, with brown short pubescence on the back; stipules are separate from the petioles; leaves are leathery, the leaf blade elliptic or obovate-oblong, 10-20 cm long and 4-10 cm wide, the apex obtuse 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, resembling lotus blossoms when open; pedicels are sturdy and tomentose; tepals 9-12, obovate, thick and fleshy; stamens numerous, about 2 cm long, filaments flat, purple, anthers introrse, the connective extending into a short pointed tip; gynoecium elliptic, densely covered with long tomentum, carpels ovate, 1-1.5 cm long, styles curled. Aggregate fruit cylindrical-oblong or ovate, densely covered with brown or grayish-yellow tomentum, the fruit apex with a long beak. Seeds elliptic or ovate, laterally compressed, 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, well-drained slightly acidic or neutral soil; when planted in alkaline soil it is prone to chlorosis, 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 it has strong wind resistance. In particular, seed-grown saplings have straight trunks, a majestic tree form and strong adaptability.

Origin and distribution of the Southern magnolia

The Southern magnolia originated in 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.