• Common name: Magnolia
• Scientific name: Magnolia grandiflora, L.
• Honoris Causa: David Cox (09/22/1999)
• Honoris Causa: José Ángel Sánchez Asiaín (10/20/1999)
• Honoris Causa: Stephanus Hendrikus Tijs (09/27/2000)
• Honoris Causa: Margaret of Bourbon and Bourbon (07/10/2003)
• Honoris Causa: Rosa María Calaf Solé (06/18/2010)
• Honoris Causa: José María Peiró Silla (04/07/2017)

ORIGIN: Southeastern United States.

CHARACTERISTICS:

• Evergreen tree with a slightly pyramidal crown.

INTERESTING FACTS:

• “Grandiflora” comes from a Latin epithet meaning “large flowers.”
• In ancient China, only the Emperor could own magnolias. This privilege allowed him to give magnolias as gifts, a gesture highly appreciated by his subjects.

USES:

• ORNAMENTAL: Due to the sheen of its leaves, its elegance, and the fragrance of its flowers.
• FOOD: Its seeds and bark have been used to relieve digestive and respiratory ailments.
• INDUSTRIAL: Its wood is valued in cabinetmaking, but it is not profitable due to its slow growth. Its flowers are used to make perfumes.
• MEDICINAL: Its bark has been used in natural medicine as a diuretic, astringent, and urinary and renal antiseptic.