Southern Magnolia: Magnolia grandiflora

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Interactive Botanical Tour

Point No. 15

Species: Magnolia grandiflora L.

Family: Magnoliaceae

In 1703, Charles Plumier classified a flowering tree found on the island of Martinique. He named it, Magnolia, after French botanist Pierre Magnol. Linnaeus then used this name in the first edition of Species plantarum, cementing the name “Magnolia”, as the recognised name for this particular genus of flowering trees [1].

This individual was planted in the early 1990s. It was originally planted as an educational specimen for the students of the university. Since its planting, the specimen has been extensively used in teaching and learning. Its flowers in particular, were used as material in the old Botany taxonomy practicals.

Magnolia is a slow growing evergreen tree that originated in the Southern United States from Virginia to central and west to east Texas. The tree grows best in fertile, moist, and full sun conditions.

Magnolia’s are hypothesised to be among  the earliest known flowering plants, predating the existence of bees. Thus, magnolias are actually pollinated by beetles instead. To achieve this, copious amounts of pollen are produced as food for the beetles [4]. Fossilised specimens have been found dating back to about 60 million years ago [5].

For a more engaging experience with magnolias, one might consider visiting Magnolia Dell Park, close to the university. It is situated between Queen Wilhelmina Avenue and Justice Mahomed Street in Bailey’s Muckleneuk. A key attraction of this park is the annual flowering of Magnolias in the park. The park was originally a soil dumping site for road works during the early 1940s. After the road works were completed, 250 Magnolia trees were planted all over the park [2][3]. Their scent (often described as being waxy, citrussy, and lush), are incorporated into various perfumes and cosmetic products. Some cosmetic products and perfumes containing the sweet fragrance of Magnolia include Curious by Brtiney Spears, and Pure Seduction Splash by Victoria’s Secret launched in 2023.

Text prepared by Tashriq Moerat and Prudence Mmbooi, 2022 BOT 366 class.

Cited sources:

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Magnol#Eponymy

2 https://www.inspirock.com/south-africa/pretoria/magnolia-dell-park-a3273242117

3 https://showme.co.za/pretoria/lifestyle/magnolia-dell-park/#:~:text=The%20Magnolia%20Dell%20Park%20belongs,the%20park%20by%20the%20municipality.

4 https://www.gardendesign.com/trees/magnolia.html

5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia#History

Images from Wikipedia, (royalty free & non-copyright).