''Magnolia stellata'', the star magnolia, is a slow-growing

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub or small tree native to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 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 A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

of that. However, ''Magnolia stellata'' was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by Hunt.

Description

This shrub grows in height, spreading to in width at maturity. Young plants display upright oval growth, but the plants spread and mound with age. ''M. stellata'' blooms at a young age, with the slightly fragrant wide

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s covering the bare plant in late winter or early spring before the leaves appear. There is natural variation within the flower color, from white to rich pink; the pink also changes from year to year. The flowers are star-shaped, with at least 12 thin, delicate petal-like

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s, some cultivars having 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 long by about wide. ''M. stellata'' produces a reddish-green, knobby aggregate fruit about long that matures 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

, 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.

Origins

The species ''Magnolia stellata'' may be found growing wild in certain parts of the

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie prefecture, Mie and Aichi prefecture, Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the small ...

area of central

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

, Japan’s largest island, at elevations of . It grows by streamsides and in moist, boggy areas with such other woody plants as '' Enkianthus cernuus, Corylopsis glabrescens'' var. ''gotoana'' and '' Berberis sieboldii.''

Hybrids

* ''Magnolia'' × ''loebneri'' = '' Magnolia kobus'' × ''Magnolia stellata''. This hybrid was first obtained by Max Loebner of Pillnitz, Germany. Paul M. Kache designated the new hybrid in 1920, to honour Max Löbner. Numerous other varieties are produced by these parents as 'Leonard Messel' and 'Merrill'. The selection, 'Leonard Messel' was a chance hybrid that was developed at Messel's garden in Sussex, UK, Nymans. Also on the market are white 'Ballerina' and the late-flowering white 'Merrill' that extend the ''loebneri'' season. File: Magnoliaceae - Magnolia stellata rosea.JPG, 'Leonard Messel' File:Magnoliaceae - Magnolia stellata rosea-002.JPG * ''Magnolia'' × ''proctoriana'' = '' Magnolia salicifolia'' × ''Magnolia stellata''. The hybrid of these closely related species was first obtained in 1925 at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. *'' Magnolia liliiflora'' × ''Magnolia stellata'', hybrid obtained at the US National Arboretum by Francis DeVos and William Corsair. There are in the trade eight varieties with women's names, the "Eight Little Girls".

Cultivation

After it was introduced to the United States in 1862 by Dr. George Robert Hall (1820-1899), ''Magnolia stellata'' has been widely cultivated in much of North America, and has been recorded as an established escape in a few places. It is also a commonly grown ornamental in Europe, and was first introduced to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1877 or 1878, most likely by Charles Maries, while he was collecting for

Veitch Nurseries The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into ...

. Its compact size makes it an ideal subject for smaller gardens, where its flowers - appearing initially on bare stems - provide some much needed colour in early Spring. The cultivars 'Centennial', 'Jane Platt', and 'Royal Star' have all gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. Spring frosts can damage the flowers. The shrub prefers deep, acidic

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

. It may be propagated by seed, or more easily by rooting cuttings taken after the flower buds have formed.Floridata: Magnolia stellata
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Gallery

File:Star magnolia 8854.JPG File:Star Magnolia in Full Bloom 3-31-2015.JPG File:Praha, Troja, Botanická zahrada, Japonská zahrada, Šácholan hvězdovitý.JPG File:Magnolia stellata RJB.jpg File:Star Magnolia Magnolia stellata 'Royal Star' Flower High DoF Cropped.jpg, 'Royal Star' File:Flower 00068a.jpg File:Magnolia stellata tree.jpg, ‘Centennial' File:Magnolia stellata flower.jpg File:Magnolia stellata immature fruit.jpg, Immature fruit File:Magnolia stellata fruit.jpg, Mature fruit with seeds File:Magnolia stellata, Morris Arboretum 01.jpg, In autumn

References

External links

''Magnolia stellata'' images in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Plant Image Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q839507 stellata Endemic flora of Japan Trees of Japan Veitch Nurseries Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees