Magnolia obovata (Japanese bigleaf magnolia, "Honoki")

Japanese name: ホオノキ （朴木、厚朴）
Scientific name: Magnolia obovata

[Overview]
A deciduous tree found in the mountains; large ones reach 30 m in height and 1 m in trunk diameter.
The leaves are simple and alternate, clustered at the branch tips, obovate to oblong, 20–40 cm long and 10–25 cm wide, narrowing to a wedge-shaped base, with a shortly protruding, pointed tip.
The underside is whitish and sparsely hairy.
The leaf margins are entire and slightly wavy.
The leaf stalk is 2–4 cm long.
A stipule scar encircles the branch at the base of the leaf stalk.
The leaves turn yellow in autumn.
The flowers are solitary, facing upward at the branch tips, white, about 15 cm across, and fragrant.
The fruit is a follicle, oblong and 10–15 cm long; it splits open when ripe, and red seeds hang from white threadlike tissue.

[Uses]
The leaves have long been used to serve food on, as in hoba-miso.
The wood is used for furniture and crafted items.
The bark is used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by grafting.
Plants grown from seed can take 10 years or more to flower.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, fertile sites with deep soil.
The leaves are large and easily damaged by wind, so avoid places exposed to strong wind.
It grows large, so it needs sufficient space.
Transplanting mature trees is difficult.
Pests and diseases are relatively few, but scale insects and longhorn beetles can occur.

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