Editing Magnolia (section)

{{Short description|Genus of angiosperms}}
{{About|the plant genus}}
{{distinguish|Mongolia}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Campanian]] to [[Holocene]] {{fossilrange|75|0|}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robison |first1=C. R. |title=New Late Cretaceous leaf locality from lower Kirtland Shale member, Bisti area, San Juan Basin, New Mexico. |journal=New Mexico Geology |date=1982 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=42–45 |doi=10.58799/NMG-v4n3.42 |url=https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/nmg/4/n3/nmg_v4_n3_p42.pdf}}</ref>
| image = Magnolia sieboldii flower 1.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Magnolia sieboldii]]''
| taxon = Magnolia
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| type_species = ''[[Magnolia virginiana]]''
| type_species_authority = L.
| synonyms = {{collapsible list| {{Genus list
  |Alcimandra|Dandy
  |Aromadendron|Blume
  |Blumia|Nees ex Blume
  |Buergeria|Siebold & Zucc.
  |Champaca|Adans.
  |Dugandiodendron|Lozano
  |Elmerrillia|Dandy
  |Guillimia|Rchb.
  |Gwillimia|Rottler ex DC.
  |Houpoea|N.H.Xia & C.Y.Wu
  |Kmeria|Dandy
  |Kobus|Kaempf. ex Salisb.
  |Lassonia|Buc'hoz
  |Lirianthe|Spach
  |Liriopsis|Spach
  |Manglietia|Blume
  |Manglietiastrum|Y.W.Law
  |Metamagnolia|Sima & S.G.Lu
  |Michelia|L.
  |Micheliopsis|H.Keng
  |Oyama|(Nakai) N.H.Xia & C.Y.Wu
  |Pachylarnax|Dandy
  |Parakmeria|Hu & W.C.Cheng
  |Paramagnolia|Sima & S.G.Lu
  |Paramanglietia|Hu & W.C.Cheng
  |Paramichelia|Hu
  |Sampacca|Kuntze
  |Santanderia|Cespedes ex Triana & Planch.
  |Sinomanglietia|Z.X.Yu
  |Sphenocarpus|Wall.
  |Svenhedinia|Urb.
  |Talauma|A.Juss.
  |Tsoongiodendron|Chun
  |Tulipastrum|Spach
  |Woonyoungia|Y.W.Law
  |Yulania|Spach
  }} }}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO_30000709-2">{{cite web |title=''Magnolia'' Plum. ex L.. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000709-2 |access-date=2022-03-25}}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Subgenera
| subdivision = * ''Magnolia''
* ''Yulania''
* ''Gynopodium''
| diversity = 210 to 340 species
| diversity_link = List of Magnolia species
}}

'''''Magnolia''''' is a large [[genus]] of about 210 to 340<ref group=lower-alpha>The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and [[morphology (biology)|morphological]] research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendron'', ''Manglietia'', ''Michelia'', ''Elmerrillia'', ''Kmeria'', ''Parakmeria'', ''Pachylarnax'' (and a small number of monospecific genera) all belong within the same genus, ''Magnolia'' s.l. (s.l. = ''sensu lato'': 'in a broad sense', as opposed to s.s. = ''sensu stricto'': 'in a narrow sense'). The genus ''Magnolia'' s.s. contains about 120 species. See the section [[#Nomenclature and classification|Nomenclature and classification]] in this article.</ref> [[flowering plant]] species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Magnoliaceae]]. The natural range of ''Magnolia'' species is [[disjunct distribution|disjunct]], with a main center in east, south and southeast Asia and a secondary center in eastern North America, Central America, the [[West Indies]], and some species in South America.

Magnolias are evergreen or deciduous [[tree]]s or [[shrub]]s known for their large, fragrant, bowl- or star-shaped flowers with numerous spirally arranged reproductive parts, producing cone-like fruits in [[autumn]] that open to reveal seeds. The genus ''Magnolia'' was first named in 1703 by [[Charles Plumier]], honoring [[Pierre Magnol]], with early taxonomy refined by [[Linnaeus]] in the 18th century based on [[America]]n and later [[Asia]]n species. Modern molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed complex relationships leading to taxonomic debates about merging related genera like ''Michelia'' with ''Magnolia''. Magnolia species are valued horticulturally for their early and showy flowering, used culinarily in various edible forms, employed in [[traditional medicine]] for their bioactive compounds like [[magnolol]] and [[honokiol]], and harvested for [[timber]], with hybridization enhancing desirable traits.<!--Per WP:CITELEAD, references are not needed in the lead if it is sourced in the body of the article.-->

''Magnolia'' is an ancient genus. Fossilized specimens of ''[[Magnolia acuminata|M. acuminata]]'' have been found dating to 20 million years ago (mya), and fossils of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae date to 95 mya.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crane |first=P.R. |date=1988 |chapter=The phylogenetic position and fossil history of the Magnoliaceae |editor1-last=Hunt |editor1-first=David R. |title=Magnolias and their allies: Proceedings of an International Symposium, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, U.K., 12-13 April 1996 |location=Milbourne Port |page=21 |isbn=978-0-9517234-8-7 |oclc=40781614}}</ref> They are theorized to have evolved to encourage [[pollination]] by [[beetle]]s as they existed prior to the evolution of [[Bee|bees]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Peigler |first=Richard |date=1988 |title=A review of pollination of Magnolias by beetles, with a collecting survey made in the Carolinas |url=https://www.magnoliasociety.org/resources/Journal/Images/1986-2011_ISSUES_41-90/ISSUE%2045_03-09_A%20REVIEW%20OF%20POLLINATION%20OF%20MAGNOLIAS%20BY%20BEETLES%20WITH%20A%20COLLECTING%20SURVEY%20MADE%20IN%20THE%20CAROLINAS_RICHARD%20S.%20PEIGLER.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Magnolia |volume=24 |issue=45 |pages=1–7 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.magnoliasociety.org/resources/Journal/Images/1986-2011_ISSUES_41-90/ISSUE%2045_03-09_A%20REVIEW%20OF%20POLLINATION%20OF%20MAGNOLIAS%20BY%20BEETLES%20WITH%20A%20COLLECTING%20SURVEY%20MADE%20IN%20THE%20CAROLINAS_RICHARD%20S.%20PEIGLER.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09}}</ref> Another aspect of ''Magnolia'' considered to represent an ancestral state is that the flower bud is enclosed in a [[bract]] rather than in [[Sepal|sepals]]; the [[perianth]] parts are undifferentiated and called [[tepal]]s rather than distinct sepals and [[petal]]s. ''Magnolia'' shares the tepal characteristic with several other flowering plants near the [[Basal (phylogenetics)|base]] of the flowering plant lineage, such as ''[[Amborella]]'' and ''[[Nymphaea]]'' (as well as with many more recently derived plants, such as ''[[Lilium]]).'' 

Magnolias are culturally significant symbols, serving as official flowers and trees in various regions like [[Shanghai]], [[Mississippi]], [[Louisiana]], [[North Korea]], and [[Seoul]], and are closely associated with the [[Southern United States]]. In the arts, magnolias symbolize both beauty and resilience, as seen in the play and film [[Steel Magnolias]], while also evoking the contrasting brutality of lynching in the song "[[Strange Fruit]]" and Southern stereotypes in political commentary.