Magnolia by tiny brok

Magnolia (Dutch name: beaver tree) is the name of the type genus of the Magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). The genus is not native to Western Europe and is best known here for its profusely flowering species and hybrids, which are planted in many gardens and parks. Magnolia's have undifferentiated petals: the flowers have a perianth consisting of tepals. The tepals, stamens and ovules are arranged spirally on the conical inflorescence. This floral structure corresponds to the oldest known fossil flowers and suggests that the origin of the group must lie close to that of the first flowering plants. In the classification of the Magnoliaceae that was standard until the end of the twentieth century, Magnolia was one of the larger genera of the subfamily Magnolioideae. With the introduction of molecular techniques for phylogenetic research (DNA sequencing), it became clear that the genus was paraphyletic.[2] This has led to a re-evaluation of the boundaries of the genus Magnolia. The approach favoured by most taxonomists is to merge all other genera of the Magnolioideae with the original genus Magnolia, thereby creating a single large genus that is monophyletic and comprises approximately 300 species. info Wikipedia.

I photographed this magnolia in Oirschot at a nursery specialising in various tree and plant species.