The Southern Magnolia is what we know best…pure beauty and charm from the
bark to the pod….each season has its own special offering….spring and summer, amid the dark glossy leaves one can find tiny firmly packed buds that gracefully open into dinner plate size flowers. Nothing, compares to the fragrance of the Southern Magnolia flower.
However, there are many other species of the Magnolia and many other names for them all….Beaver Tree, Holly Bay, Hou Po, Indian Bark, and others…
Magnolia also has a medicinal side…the flower and bark are used to make medicine. Some of the ills the extract is used to treat are…anxiety, depression, stress, stroke, and asthma…among others.
In skin care products, Magnolia is used as a skin whitener.
The chemical found in the bark is honokiol…this is what makes it medicinal.
While the flowers are exquisite…the seed pods get my attention, and if one looks closely at the bark……seems to be a story written in some far away language.
Magnolia seems to have anxiety-reducing activity in animals.
All research on magnolia has been in laboratories.