Magnolia stellata
species of plant
Magnolia stellata, the star magnolia, is a slow-growing deciduous shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus), Magnolia stellata was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by Hunt.
Description
This shrub grows 1.5 to 2.5 metres (5 to 8 ft) in height, spreading to 4.6 m (15 ft) in width at maturity. Young plants display upright oval growth, but the plants spread and mound with age.
M. stellata blooms at a young age, with the slightly fragrant 7–10 cm (3–4 in) wide flowers covering the bare plant in late winter or early spring before the leaves appear. There is natural variation within the flower colour, from white to rich pink; the pink also changes from year to year. The flowers are star-shaped, with at least 12 thin, delicate petal-like tepals, some cultivars having more than 30.
The leaves open bronze-green, turning to deep green as they mature, and yellow before dropping in autumn. They are oblong and about 10 cm (4 in) long by about 4 cm (1.6 in) wide.
The public source identifies “Magnolia stellata” as species of plant. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Magnolia, stellata and species.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q839507. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Magnolia stellata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.