My brother gave me a very pretty Magnolia tree back in 2001 when he taught Entomology at the University of Kansas. He's gone now, I never asked him what particular kind of Magnolia tree it was. I'm certain that he purchased it at a Nursury. I've spent some time on the internet trying to find out what kind of tree it might be. For whatever reason, I just can't seem to locate it. It's probably somthing simple that I've overlooked somehow. DESCRIPTION: Lots of thick green leaves, about 2 1/2" long. Small white flowers, no more than 1" across. (it blooms in little clusters, and it never produces a lot of flowers) It looks like a sort of 'canopy tree' because it has a couple of 'trunks' (2" thick) that are bare with a very thin bark and doesn't have branches or leaves except at the very top. The whole tree and pot is only about 5' tall. If you know what it is let me know. Thanks ! :)
Very small parts for a magnolia, especially the leaves. These also produce solitary flowers, never in clusters (although profuse-flowering kinds can certainly have them near one another on the branches). Maybe it's not really a magnolia and that's why you can't find a name for it. Otherwise, a common magnolia with smaller leaves than usual is star magnolia (Magnolia stellata).
The branching is upright and it does spread a bit. But it's not really multi-stemmed, except on top of course. And the shape is not rounded or oval - more like a couple of bare branches coming out of the soil at an angle with a blanket of leaves on top. And now that you mention it, the flowers do not cluster. I was told it was a Magnolia and I've always assumed it was, but, as they say: "never assume anything." I've been talking to a neighbor and he has a digital camera. I'll try to Upload a couple of pics as soon as I get a chance and that should do it. Thanks.
If evergreen might be Magnolia dianica (syn. Michelia yunnanensis). Although as small as the parts of forms of this in western cultivation might be, again 1" flowers and 2 1/2" leaves would be smaller than those of this plant. If you haven't gone through the photos on the Magnolia Society web site something there might give a hint. http://www.magnoliasociety.org/index.html Click on Classification of Magnoliaceae in the list on the lower left side of the home page, then the green highlighted classifications that appear on the left side of the page that opens. Lists of species in each division will show up on the right, some highlighted in green to indicate there are pictures of those species.
Just a thought, could it possibly be a Camellia. Some of these have small flowers, try Camellia cuspidata or Camellia tsaii, flowers are white on both these and come in clusters . How many petals (Tepals) does your plant have? Is it an evergreen? http://images.google.com/imgres?img...microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SUNA&sa=N
