Magnolias & Tulip Trees


Magnolia Flower [Genus Magnolia   |   Genus Liriodendron (Tulip Trees)   -   both of Family Magnoliaceae]

Magnolias are a very ancient line and are thought to be the first fully developed flowering land plants from which all others descend. The flowering plants we depend on for food and flavorings were formerly given the name Magnoliophyta, but in the era of the AGP they have been renamed to Angiosperms.

The Magnolias themselves are noted mainly for popular decorative flowering trees. Some also provide high quality wood, and medicinals, but culinary usage is very local. There are at least 254 species in this genus.

More on Magnoliids.

Magnolia Fruit The photo to the left is of mature Magnolia Fruits (M. grandiflora) that have developed from the central spike in the flowers. The fruit is very hard, and the central flower spike that develops into the fruit is also quite hard. The Magnolias developed long before there were bees, and depended on beetles for fertilization. The beetles were much more interested in eating the flowers than fertilizing them, so the flowers had to be tough. The photo specimen was picked up after a wind storm in Los Angeles, California.

Cooking

Japan:

  Flower buds and young leaves of M. hypoleuca and M. obovata are cooked as a vegetable, while older leaves are ground to a powder as a seasoning. Whole dried leaves are also used as dishes to hold a stuffing for broiling. One variety of Miso (hoba miso) is flavored with Magnolia.

Asia:

  Magnolia flower buds are used to flavor rice and and scent tea.

China:

  Dried buds and petals of M. biondii are used as flavorings in some regions. Fresh flower buds are pickled with vinegar and ginger. Fresh petals are coated with a flour batter and deep fried.

Mexico, Central America:

  The main uses of M. mexicana are medicinal, but fresh flowers are also used in culinary preparations, and fresh leaves are used as a flavoring.

England:

  Magnolias have been imported from North America. Petals of M. grandiflora are pickled and used as a spicy condiment.


Tulip Tree

Tulip Tree Flowers and Leaves [Genus Liriodendron of Family Magnoliaceae]

The Tulip Tree flowers are structured just like the Magnolia flowers, with a similar central spike that develops into the fruit. To the best of my knowledge no part of the Tulip Tree is eaten, but the fine grained wood is quite liked and sold as "Yellow Poplar". The photo was taken in New Jersey, USA where Tulip Trees are native, but they have been introduced as far as Oregon.   Photo by Famartin distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike v4.0 International.

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