Magnolia macrophylla var. ashei

Ashe's Magnolia

Magnoliaceae

Plant Specifics

Size:	15-30 ft tall by 10 ft wide
Life Span:	Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:	White
Fruit Color:	Red
Phenology:	Deciduous
Habitats:	Slope forest, upland mixed forest. Ravines. Andy's photo is of a planted specimen that appears to nearly lack the red/purple splotches at the bases of the petals. The leaves are too young to have the characteristic white back, however, Andy knows that they turned white as they got older.

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:	Specimen plant in shady garden or understory tree.
Light:	Part Shade,  Shade
Moisture Tolerance:	always floodedextremely dry
Moisture Tolerance:	Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Short very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:	Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Salt Spray Tolerance:	Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil/Substrate:	Sand

Wildlife

Fruits eaten and spread by birds and small mammals.

Beetles are the primary pollinators of magnolia flowers. The flowers have a hardened carpel to avoid damage by their gnawing mandibles as the feed. The beetles are after the protein-rich pollen. Because the beetles are interesting in pollen and pollen alone, the flowers mature in a way that ensures cross pollination. The male parts mature first and offer said pollen. The female parts of the flower are second to mature. They produce no reward for the beetles but are instead believed to mimic the male parts, ensuring that the beetles will spend some time exploring and thus effectively pollinating the flowers (In Defense of Plants blog).