The Magnificent Magnolias of New York City

Magnolias are among an elite group of flowering trees that own the Spring. But as you pass those beautiful masses of blossoms, are you aware that you are looking at one of the most ancient families of flowering plants? Stranger still, these plants are pollinated, not by the birds and the bees, but by beetles. Pull out a chair for the strange story of this mysterious Southern Belle now appearing on a New York City street near you.

As a youth, I looked forward to the arrival of the "cherry trees." Of course, I now know that those ubiquitous pink flowers that put in their appearance on the streets of Queens like clockwork each year during the last week of March through first week of April, were not cherries at all but the Saucer Magnolia, Magnolia x soulangiana.

If ever there were a candidate for the official tree of Brooklyn, it would be this one. Not the famous Tree, that grows in Brooklyn, known as the Tree of Heaven or Alianthus, or even that famous allergen, symbol of the New York City Parks department, the London Plane, now banned for its sneeze-worthy pollen, but the proud, pink-flowered hybrid seen in the neatly-manicured gardens of every houseproud owner in the borough and in adjacent Queens.

The Saucer Magnolia, is like most New Yorkers, a mutt. The product of a cross between M. denudata and M. liliiflora it wears like iron and is unstoppable and unkillable-just like New York. The plant is pollution-resistant and troubled by few pests, although it can be brought low by magnolia scale and its accompanying mold.

Another early arrival on the scene is the Star Magnolia. Magnolia Stellata makes its appearance around the same time as its saucer cousins. The mayfly of magnolias, these trees with their distinctive star-shaped flowers disappear all too quickly. If you live in New York City, you may be able to coax an extra week of enjoyment out of these by visiting the plantings in the Magnolia Plaza in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and then heading uptown to see the specimens in the Bronx's New York Botanic Gardens and in Wavehill. New York City spans two different climate zones. Flowering in Brooklyn usually commences from one to two weeks before it does in the Bronx.

When the Saucer Magnolias and Star Magnolias kick the bucket, it's time for the Cucumber Magnolias with their unusual yellow flowers, the Big Leaf Magnolia with its enormous shiny leaves and the Southern Magnolias. In all there are 17 varieties in Brooklyn Botanic Garden's magnolia collection alone. This garden has been an avid hybridizer and was the originator of the Elizabeth hybrid, named after an employee of the garden.

Magnolias hybridize easily between species and even between different genuses, something much more difficult to pull off successfully. But why not? They are a tough bunch with a lineage so ancient that they are pollinated by beetles-because bees had not yet evolved when the magnolias first appeared between 36 and 58 million years ago. Magnolias have uniquely complex flowers, a sign of their ancient origins, as the most modern flowers, such as the Orchids, have streamlined sexual parts.

So come out and see the magnolias. You won't even have to hop a riverboat for the Delta or mix a mint julep.

Sources:
http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/MAGSOUA.pdf
http://www.mariesgarden.com/fom/Jan/magnolia_soulangiana.htm
http://www.bbg.org/
http://www.nybg.org/
http://wavehill.org/about/