FFF396 - MAGNOLIA

Magnolia stellata, sometimes called the star magnolia, is a slow-growing shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus), and is treated by many botanists as a variety or even a cultivar of that. However, Magnolia stellata was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by D. Hunt.

We have been having a relatively mild Winter so far in Melbourne and some of the Spring flowers have tentatively appeared. If we have more cold and frosts ahead of us, no doubt the early bloomers will get a nasty shock!

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

If you link your post here, please show a link back to this site on your blog post...

Add your own link to the Linky list below and say hello in a comment. Please visit other participants in the meme. Thank you for your loyalty and perseverance in linking up, it is appreciated!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

FFF374 - MICHELIA

Michelia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). The genus includes about 50 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical south and southeast Asia (Indomalaya), including southern China. The Magnoliaceae is an ancient family; fossil plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae date back 95 million years.

A primitive aspect of the Magnolia family is that their large, cup-shaped flowers lack distinct petals or sepals. The large non-specialised flower parts, resembling petals, are called tepals. The leaves, flowers, and form of Michelia resemble Magnolia, but the blossoms of Michelia generally form clusters among the leaves, rather than singly at the branch ends as Magnolia does.

Popular in Melbourne is a relatively new hybrid of Michelia, called 'Fairy Magnolia'. This is designated Michelia x MicJUR01 and was bred in New Zealand by Mark Jury in the late 1990s. It produces masses of beautiful fragrant flowers blushed with lilac-pink in early Spring. These plants are so free flowering that they have a flower bud at each leaf axil and have been known to provide a light flush of flowers during summer too. The plants are bushy with rich evergreen foliage, which makes them ideal in the garden as a flowering hedge or specimen plant.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so.

***If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!***

Add your own link to the Linky list below and say hello in a comment. Please visit other participants in the meme. Thank you for your loyalty and perseverance in linking up, it is appreciated!

FFF294 - STAR MAGNOLIA

Magnolia stellata, sometimes called the star magnolia, is a slow-growing shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus), and is treated by many botanists as a variety or even a cultivar of that. However, Magnolia stellata was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by Hunt.

This tree grows 1.5 to 2.5 m in height, spreading to 4.6 m in width at maturity. Young trees display upright oval growth, but the plants spread and mound with age. The tree blooms at a young age, with the slightly fragrant 7-10 cm flowers covering the bare plant in late winter or early spring before the leaves appear. There is natural variation within the flower colour, which varies from white to rich pink; the hue of pink magnolias also changes from year to year, depending on day and night air temperatures prior to and during flowering.

The flowers are star-shaped, with at least 12 thin, delicate petal-like tepals—some cultivars have more than 30. The leaves open bronze-green, turning to deep green as they mature, and yellow before dropping in autumn. They are oblong and about 10 cm long by about an 4 cm wide. These magnolias produce a reddish-green, knobby aggregate fruit about 5 cm long that matures and opens in early autumn. Mature fruit opens by slits to reveal orange-red seeds, but the fruits often drop before developing fully. Young twigs have smooth, shiny chestnut brown bark, while the main trunks have smooth, silvery gray bark. Like the saucer magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana), it is deciduous, revealing a twiggy, naked frame in winter. Plants have thick, fleshy roots which are found fairly close to the surface and do not tolerate much disturbance.

The species Magnolia stellata may be found growing wild in certain parts of the Ise Bay area of central Honshū, Japan’s largest island, at elevations between 50m and 600m. It grows by streamsides and in moist, boggy areas with such other woody plants as Enkianthus cernuus, Corylopsis glabrescens var. gotoana and Berberis sieboldii.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so. If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!

Add your own Flower photos on the linky list below and please visit other people's blogs to see their contributions.

I appreciate your linking up and enjoy personally seeing your great photos, however, due to a work-related busy time I may have not commented lately - I shall endeavour to do so ASAP!