Big, upright and vase-shaped, 10 to 20 cm across, and milky white to reddish purple, with the colour strongest at the base.
Introduced · Up to 13 m
Magnolia
Magnolia × soulangeana · Magnoliaceae
Magnolia is a low, spreading bush or small tree, planted in gardens and along suburban streets. Its big upright flowers, white, pink or purple, open on bare branches in early spring.
Know it by
Blossom10 to 20 cm, white to reddish purple, strongest at the base.
Silky budsFlower buds 2 cm, leaf buds about 1 cm, on greyish brown shoots.
LeavesDark glossy green, oval, up to 18 cm, paler underneath.
Blossom10 to 20 cm, white to reddish purple, strongest at the base.Silky budsFlower buds 2 cm, leaf buds about 1 cm, on greyish brown shoots.LeavesDark glossy green, oval, up to 18 cm, paler underneath.Then check · ShapeA low, wide, untidy dome on several stems, with the older branches sagging out until they are level or lower.
How to identify a magnolia
The buds are silky, on untidily branching greyish brown shoots: the slim leaf buds about 1 cm, the fat flower buds 2 cm.
Dark glossy green and oval, up to 18 cm long, with smooth edges, widest above the middle and paler underneath.
Learn the magnolia in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely
Every part, in photographs
Татьяна Максимова, CC BY 4.0Martin Purdy, CC BY 4.0Malte Krömer, CC BY 4.0
Sean Frederick Tuck, CC BY 4.0When to look
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In leaf
Flowers
In leaf: April to November · Flowers: March to August
Every tree on the calendar · How to identify trees in winter
Where you’ll find it
Planted in small gardens and suburban streets across Britain. It grows on most soils except the thinnest, driest chalk. It stands up to wind better than most magnolias. In a small garden its spread may become a problem after a few decades.
What it’s mistaken for
- Tulip treeBoth answer to the name tulip tree, and both are in the magnolia family. Leaf. Magnolia: oval, ending in a pointed tip. Tulip tree: squared off, with a shallow notch.
More in the family
In the app
There’s more of the magnolia in Treely
- Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
- Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
- A short round each dayUntil you know the magnolia on sight, from any side
- Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
Free to download.
Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: Sean Frederick Tuck (CC BY 4.0), Martin Purdy (CC BY 4.0), Malte Krömer (CC BY 4.0), Татьяна Максимова (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.