Episode 17

Magnolia officinalis

Published on: 24th November, 2021

Magnoliaceae evolved flowers before the emergence of bees, how did this shape its pollination strategies? What makes the Magnolia flower perfect? In which growing conditions does Magnolia officinalis flourish? What compound gives M.officinalis essential oil its distinctive aroma? This episode is a brief introduction to a fascinating, ancient, historically significant tree.

Intro tune: Botanical Berceuse by Carmen Porter (https://carmenporter.com)


References:

Magnolia Pollination:

https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/garden-scoop/2018-05-05-magnolia-pollination


New Insights into Breeding and Propagating Magnolias. Thomas Ranney and Dominic Gillooly,

Department of Horticultural Science, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and

Extension Center, North Carolina State University:

https://mcilab.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ranney-and-gillooly-2014.pdf?fwd=no


Phenolic Constituents from the Stem Bark of Magnolia officinalis:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/np800494e


Magnolol: A multifunctional compound isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant

Magnolia officinalis, European Journal of Integrative Medicine:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2011.09.002

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876382011001405


Neuroprotective effect of honokiol and magnolol, compounds from Magnolia officinalis, on beta-amyloid-induced toxicity in PC12 cells: https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.3178

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About the Podcast

Song and Plants
Botanical musings and music
Learning the binomial nomenclature (scientific names) of biota is a fascinating way to glean insight into the natural world. Though daunting at first, they can become familiar and accessible with the help of melody and context. This podcast will present tunes where the scientific names of species comprise the lyrical content. Episodes will describe habitats, growing conditions, nutritional information, and locate species within their taxonomic hierarchy. Historical significance, interviews and anecdotal stories will also be presented. Each musical release will inspire eight weekly episodes. Come grow with me!

About your host

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Carmen Porter

Growing up, my playground was the forest and orchard behind my house which were teeming with fascinating flora and fauna. I was the little girl singing to her extensive plant collection and pet caterpillars. After leaving home for too many years to pursue higher education and wander around the world, I returned to plant a garden. There are currently more than 500 cultivars of fruits and vegetables growing around my house.

'Song and Plants' came about when I started writing music to help me learn the binomial nomenclature (scientific names) of local biota. The podcast accompanies the tunes by providing information that extends beyond the lyrical content.