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| Magnolia stellata
Star magnoliaBeautiful in their display, the flowers are commonly white, very fragrant, 3-4" in diameter and borne in early to mid-April. Although often listed as having 12-18 narrow strap-like tepals, many newer forms can have up to 40 tepals. This species flowers at a very young age. Because flowers open early, late freezes often damage the flowers. In central Illinois, flowers have opened as early as March 10. According to Callaway, the flowers have small sepaloid tepals that fall before anthesis (pollen release), resulting in classification confusion. The specific epithet, stellata refers to the star-like appearance of the flowers. A number of cultivars with delicate light pink flowers are available. |
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