MAGNOLIACEAE - Magnolia Family
Magnolia grandiflora
Trees or shrubs
Leaves alternate, pinnately veined, simple stipules enclosing
bud
Flowers solitary, actinomorphic, CA and CO not differentiated, parts
referred to as tepals, perianth in 3 or more series
Stamens spirally arranged, ribbon-like
Pistils unilocular and
spirally arranged
Fruit a follicle or samara
aggregated into a conelike structure
Seed with abundant endosperm, often suspended by a thread-like
funiculus
12 genera, 230 species
The Magnoliaceae is divided into two subfamilies:
Magnolioideae (leaves entire, fruit not a samara)
Liriodendroideae (leaves 2-10 lobed, fruit a samara
Above are the twig, leaf, flower, stamen and fruit (aggregate of
samaras) from Liriodendron tulipifera, a large tree found from
the Atlantic coast to the eastern portion of the Midwest in the
U.S.A. Notice the lobed leaf, undifferentiated stamen, and fruit
type.
Magnolia-like flowers were once thought to be primitive (similar
to the flowers of original angisperms) but his idea is no loner in
favor due to recent fossil finds
Economic importance - ornamentals, timber
Medicinal uses - Bark, leaf, and fruit teas have been used to
treat fevers, rheumatism, and stomach ailments.
Diagnostic characteristics - woody, many unfused floral parts,
stamens undifferentiated, fruit an aggregate of follicles or
achenes.