Magnoliaceae

▪ plant family

      magnolia family of the order Magnoliales that contains 7 genera and 227 species, including many handsome, fragrant-flowering trees and shrubs. Most have simple leaves and an elongated conelike floral axis with flowers that have six tepals (sepals and petals that are not distinctly different), many spirally arranged stamens, and one, two, or many carpels (female reproductive structures). The seeds of many species hang by threads from the conelike fruits. In most species the flowers are bisexual and are borne on branch tips. The long floral axis, spiral arrangement of the flower parts, and simple vessels (water-conducting cells) in the wood all mark the family as a primitive one on the evolutionary scale. Although the fossil record indicates that the family was once widely distributed in Eurasia and North America, it is now concentrated in the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and in East and Southeast Asia, with only a few species in the Southern Hemisphere.

      The family is important primarily for its ornamental species such as the tulip tree, or yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), and most members of the genus Magnolia. Some plants yield perfume, such as the champac (Michelia champaca). Others are valuable timber sources or provide ingredients used in folk medicines.

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