Magnificent Magnolias and how to eat them
A rather showy flower indeed!
It’s springtime in eastern Australia, and one of the plants that makes sure we all notice the shift in seasons is the gorgeously showy magnolia. Magnolias are ancient plants, with fossilised records dating back 20 milions years ago. They never fail to impress, and many a gardener chooses to have this magnificent tree in their garden bringing colour and grandeur.
Right now you can’t miss them as the 5-25cm big, white-to-red-to-purple flowers present themselves on an otherwise naked tree. This happens just before the leaves appear. This is the widespread Magnolia soulangeana and hybrids.
Did you know that the flower petals and buds are edible? And make for an excellent pickle which is much appreciated in places like the UK , Korea, and Japan.
Where to find magnolias
Magnolias in Australia grow as far south as Tasmania all the way up to Far North Queensland. See map here>
There are several varieties of the species and you are bound to find one in your neighbourhood if you live in the east of Australia. According to the records on Australia Living Atlas, they do not occur in Western Australia. Please let me know if this is not the case and you have in fact spotted one there.
It is most likely you will find magnolia in gardens and parks. Some councils plant them as street trees, like they do here in Lithgow, on Wiradjuri country, Central NSW where I call home.
How to Identify Magnolias
Magnolias can be evergreen or deciduous trees and shrubs with typically large fragrant flowers.
Depending on the species, the flowers can be shaped like a bowl or a star, and have been hybridised extensively for the garden industry, producing white, pink, purple, green, or yellow varieties. In deciduous species (the one that lose all of their leaves in the colder months), the blooms often appear before the leaves in spring. Cone-like fruits are often produced in the autumn.
The most common Magnolia in south eastern Australia’s gardens and streets are deciduous, and at this time of year are coming back to life with a showy display of colourful pink to purple flowers, some as big as your hand.
Picture this, a ghost like tree, denuded of anything else, sporting big, loud flowers as opposed to leaves.
You’ve got an early spring magnolia.
A peculiarity of the Magnoliaceae ( the scientific family of magnolias) is that the petals grow in swirls, as opposed to encircling a central receptacle. This is taken as a sign that the plants evolved before bees, specialising instead to attract bugs.
After the initial flowering, which can last anything between 1 to 3 weeks, they form a fruit. At that point the shiny, dark green leaves will be visible and the tree canopy is looking full.
It is easier to identify the trees at the onset of spring, when they are budding, as they will be obvious as you walk by, see images.
A note on classification: There is extensive debate at the moment about the species of Magnolias, due to the fact that they are ancient trees and have evolved for some time in isolation, due to the continental drift. There are several classifications that group the American Magnolias together and the south-east Asian magnolias in another group. The debate is still going and at some point will be resolved via DNA testing. See here for an overview about the matter.
A rather pink street tree
Marnee collecting magnolia flowers this week
Are all magnolias edible?
The research that we have done points to the same results: there are no known cases of poisonous magnolias. That said there are a number of them that are known for their edibility and they are: Magnolia grandiflora (evergreen tree with big white flowers, originally form North America); Magnolia denudata ( a smaller, very fragrant tree from China, white flowers with stripes of pink); Magnolia obovata ( a large deciduous tree - up to 30m- with big leaves -up to 40cm- and creamy flowers, from Japan); Magnolia kobus ( medium deciduous tree form Japan and Korea with large white/pink flowers) ; Magnolia mexicana ( from Central America, big tree with big white flowers); Magnolia pterocarpa ( evergreen tree from India and Nepal, small leaves and white flowers) and Magnolia soulangeana ( the most commonly planted, deciduous, with white-pink-red-purple flowers). Check out your local one and enjoy!
How to make pickled magnolia flowers
Below I offer up a recipe from Marnee Fox (and my awesome wife) of Forage to Feast.
Check out the video as well.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Storage: Store up to 6-12 months in cool dry place or up to a week opened in the fridge.
Serves: Makes approximately 2 x 300ml Jar
Ingredients:
30 Magnolia flower buds or loose flowers to use their petals
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup sugar
1 slice of fresh ginger
Pickling spice to taste
Method
1. Gently wash and dry the flowers then remove any brown, papery bracts from around buds, and any bruised petals.
2. Steralize your jars
3. Place the ginger + pickling spice in the bottom of the jar
4. If using buds, cut the stems right to the base of the flower. If using opened flowers, remove the petals from the centre. Pack your flowers from the base up using care not to bruise them.
5. Heat the vinegar, sugar and water to boiling, then simmer for five minutes.
6. Pour the hot vinegar solution over magnolias until they are completely covered. I like to use a stick or bamboo skewer to hold the flowers under the vinegar mix. Quickly seal the lid while hot and invert the jar for one minute. This helps heat air inside the jar and means you’re likely to get a better seal as it cools.
7.Allow the jar to cool to room temperature then put it in the fridge. Allow to mellow for two to three days before opening, and store in the fridge
It’s interesting to note how the flavour changes depending on the colour of the bud. Generally this flavour rule seems to be true.
Dark pink = bitter, gingery-chilli
Pink/White = the gingery, cardamommy flavours
White = more lemony, subtle, sometimes floral flavour
Further research
Wikipedia on Magnolias > An overview of the family with the current debate about classification
Garden Bench Top > An overview of the 5 commonly eaten magnolias
Urban Nanna > How to harvest and pickle magnolias
Green Deane > A few notes on Magnolia grandiflora and how to eat it
Wild Plants Guide > An extensive review of the most common magnolias, from the UK
Tin and Thyme > Magnolia syrup recipe
The Spruce > How to grow and care for magnolias
Aussie Green Thumb > 27 varieties of magnolia to grow in your garden
Better Homes and Gardens > How to grow and care for magnolias
Atlas of Living Australia > Distribution range of Magnolias in Australia
Handmade Apothecary > A review of the magnolias flavours
