The trees that arrived before bees
Magnolias have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and are among the world’s most ancient trees. So ancient, in fact, that they evolved before bees even existed, and had to rely on beetles for pollination. Magnolias bloom in early spring, before most other flowering trees have blossomed. With their large, fragrant flowers, they are a firm favourite among gardeners.
Magnolias also have huge cultural importance in their countries of origin. In the southern United States, the magnolia is a symbol of luck in Georgia and the state tree of both Louisiana and Mississippi. In China, the magnolia symbolises purity and nobility, while in Japan it is associated with perseverance, dignity and a love of nature. Magnolia bark and flowers have been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat ailments from asthma to muscle pain, and recent studies report potential for their use in modern medicine.
Fascinating facts about magnolias
Magnolia grandis. Credit: Hieu Nguyen, Centre for Plant Conservation Vietnam
Beetle mania
Magnolias do not produce nectar, but beetles are attracted to their sweet-smelling flowers and feed on their pollen.
Magnolia grandis. Credit: Hieu Nguyen, Centre for Plant Conservation Vietnam
Fruit of the bloom
Magnolias produce very distinctive fruit that resemble pine cones in shape and structure and produce reddish-orange seeds.
Magnolia grandis in Vietnam. © Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora© Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora
Endless forms
New varieties of magnolia are constantly being bred due to their popularity as an ornamental flower.
Popular and threatened
There are over 200 different Magnolia species worldwide – some evergreen, some deciduous – but despite their popularity as ornamental trees, around half of the world’s magnolias are threatened with extinction in the wild. Many magnolia species are naturally very rare, making them vulnerable to any changes taking place in their landscape.
One of the most striking – and endangered – of the world’s wild magnolias is Magnolia grandis. It has characteristic dark-red, sweet-smelling flowers. As its name implies, the species has huge leathery leaves that grow to over a foot in length. A combination of hot, rainy summers and cool, foggy winters suits these trees, which grow in evergreen forests within limestone mountain valleys.
Until recently, Magnolia grandis was known only from China, where it was found in very limited numbers across a few sites. However, surveys conducted by Fauna & Flora and partners in 2014-15 revealed previously unknown populations in three protected areas in northern Vietnam.
Manglietia duclouxii flowers. © Jackson Xu / Fauna & Flora
Manglietia duclouxii, one of many Chinese magnolia species threatened with extinction.
Where do magnolias come from?
Wild magnolias are native to East and Southeast Asia and to the Americas. Their main strongholds are in China and Vietnam and in Central America, but they can be found from Bolivia to Borneo, from Mexico to Myanmar and from Peru to the Philippines. The famed Magnolia grandiflora hails originally from the southern United States.
Magnolia sinica habitat. © Lin Wuying / Fauna & Flora
Typical habitat of the critically endangered Magnolia sinica, which Fauna & Flora helped save from extinction in the wild.
Magnolia grandis. Credit: Dave Gill/FFI
In the past, Magnolia grandis saplings were often cleared by cardamom farmers, preventing the species from regenerating naturally.
Are magnolias endangered?
Wild magnolias face a variety of threats. In Vietnam and China, for example, habitat loss is a major cause of their decline. Illegal logging for the timber trade, along with conversion of forest to rice paddies, farms and pastures, has pushed many magnolia species to the brink of extinction.
In the last remaining strongholds of Magnolia grandis, timber is in high demand, while much of the forest understorey has been cleared to make way for cardamom cultivation, and to supply the firewood needed to dry the cardamom seed pods. The removal of young saplings and seedlings prevents the regeneration of the magnolias and other threatened trees.
Although Vietnam’s magnolia populations grow within protected areas, limited law enforcement and management on the ground mean that, realistically, protection for these trees is minimal.
A nursery growing magnolia seedlings. © Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora
Nursery-grown magnolia seedlings are now helping to supplement the wild populations of these endangered trees.
How can we help save magnolias?
In 2005, Fauna & Flora and partners intervened to rescue a critically endangered Chinese magnolia, Magnolia sinica, whose wild population was down to single figures. Like other magnolias growing in the country’s so-called protected areas, it was not benefiting from any practical conservation action on the ground. We brought together botanists, government representatives and local communities to develop a coherent plan that would safeguard this species and other threatened Chinese magnolias by ensuring dramatic improvements in protected area management.
Since discovering the only known populations of Magnolia grandis in Vietnam, Fauna & Flora and our in-country partners have been working with local communities to protect these and other threatened trees. Community conservation teams conduct regular patrols across critical Magnolia grandis habitat areas, ensuring protection from further illegal logging activities. These community-led patrols have stopped timber extraction in its tracks.
Working alongside cardamom farmers, we have highlighted the value of this fast-growing species as canopy cover for their shade-loving crop. Realising that protecting Magnolia grandis populations can help improve their livelihoods, many farmers have stopped weeding out magnolia seedlings. Recent field surveys recorded over 800 Magnolia grandis saplings that had regenerated naturally since our project began.
With fewer than 250 mature individuals left in the wild in Vietnam, strengthening Magnolia grandis populations has been key to reducing extinction risk. Seeds collected by community conservation teams have been sown in local nurseries and cared for until ready to be planted in community forests. Some farmers are directly requesting nursery-grown seedlings for their cardamom plantations. Our team has reintroduced over 4,000 Magnolia grandis seedlings back into the landscape. The success of the project has led to the main tree nursery being expanded and two new ones being set up in neighbouring villages.
Community-led patrols are not only protecting threatened magnolias, but have also halted hunting of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, one of the world’s rarest primates, which shares its forest home with the largest surviving population of Magnolia grandis.
Plant team training. © Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora
A conservation team drawn from the local community receives plant monitoring training.
“Local people are helping to save Magnolia grandis from extinction in Vietnam. Their work to patrol the species’ habitat is protecting the last trees from logging, and their efforts to plant out seedlings across Tung Vai are providing a vital boost for this critically endangered tree.”
Alicky Davey
Programme Manager, Plant Conservation
“Local people are helping to save Magnolia grandis from extinction in Vietnam. Their work to patrol the species’ habitat is protecting the last trees from logging, and their efforts to plant out seedlings across Tung Vai are providing a vital boost for this critically endangered tree.”
Alicky Davey
Programme Manager, Plant Conservation
Saving wild magnolias, together
The wild relatives of some of our favourite ornamental trees are close to extinction.
Please help us to safeguard their future.
Donate todayMagnolia grandis. © Chu Xuan Canh / Fauna & Flora