A ‘Yellow Bird’ in the Magnolia

Magnolia × brooklynensis

First published in the April 2025 Grapevine, a newsletter for Yamhill County Master Gardeners

Plant nurseries have a way of turning a gardener’s head. The best intentions and thoughtfully prepared plant lists are no match for the lure of a well-placed “statement” tree. That’s basically the story of how Magnolia × brooklynensis ‘Yellow Bird’ found its way to my front yard.  

The garden center just wasn’t playing fair. I was seeking a Magnolia grandiflora. But the desire for an evergreen tree was diabolically doused. The tree whisperers told me that what I really needed were goblet-shaped blooms the color of canaries. This tree would be a burst of golden summer when nearly everything else was stuck in spring pink. “Yellow Bird” was special, and ultimately irresistible. 

There are no regrets. The flowers are luminous. And like a bird, each buttery bloom appears to perch itself upon a perfectly crafted nest of newly emerged, glossy leaves. The color is only rivaled by the Western Tiger Swallowtail butterflies that clumsily gravitate to the tree. They can rest and be safely camouflaged among the long-lasting flowers – up to three weeks – that grace every part of the tree’s 30-40 feet at maturity. 

Yellow Magnolias in Women’s History 

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is famous for bringing together a team of women horticulturists who would introduce yellow magnolias to the world. In their ground-breaking, plant-breeding program Dr. Evamaria Sperber, Doris Stone and Lola Koerting would register eight magnolia hybrids between 1953 and 1991.

‘Elizabeth’, bred by Dr. Sperber, was the first precocious, yellow-flowering magnolia. The term “precocious” refers to plants that flower before they leaf out. This is a coveted trait in magnolias as the blooms look elegant on bare branches. 

Doris Stone registered Magnolia × brooklynensis ‘Yellow Bird’ as the second yellow hybrid in 1981. It is considered a “backcross” – a cross between a hybrid back to one of its parents to create something closer to the original parent. In this case, the “backcross” is between the Magnolia acuminata var. subcordata (cucumber magnolia) and Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Evamaria’, the first ornamental magnolia patented in 1968. 

The buttery blossoms and later bloom time of ‘Yellow Bird’ are not precocious like ‘Elizabeth’. However, it would be hard to deny the beauty of the tree’s tropical-like leaves and canary-like blooms that appear a bit later than other magnolia hybrids. It also means ‘Yellow Bird’ is a bit more hardy and can handle gardens in USDA zones 4-8. 

Magnolias in Earth’s History

According to the Smithsonian, magnolias can be traced on Earth as far back as 95 million years. As bees were yet to arrive on the Cretaceous scene, magnolias evolved to be pollinated by a retro band of insects, the beetles. Magnolias developed tough carpels that avoided damage from beetle mandibles. And those carpels mimicked the stamens to trick the beetles into spending more time on the flower and ensuring pollination. 

The magnolia plant family, Magnoliaceae, encompasses a wide range of sizes, from small, multi-stemmed shrubs to large trees. Some species reach heights of 60 to 80 feet (18-24 meters) or even taller.

Mentioning magnolia may have many picturing Magnolia grandiflora, commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay. The evergreen – with flowers measuring 12 stunning inches across – is indigenous to the Southeastern United States. Magnolia macrophylla, the bigleaf magnolia, is a deciduous magnolia native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. This species boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America.

Magnolia was named by the Swedish botanist Carl Linneaus in 1737 in honor of the French botanist Pierre Magnol (1638-1715). The plant which Magnol had described is Magnolia virginiana, an evergreen American species that was already growing in Europe by the mid-eighteenth century.

More Magnolia Trivia

Most flowers have a distinction between their petals. There are the colorful floral parts we admire, and the sepals, which tend to be simple and green. In magnolias, the petals and sepals are similar in size, shape, and color, and are called tepals.  

Magnolias are also recognized by their fruit which is an aggregate of follicles. The seed pods, which resemble cones, are a source of food and shelter for wildlife. Magnolia grandiflora cones are edible and can be eaten raw, pickled, or used as a seasoning, with a taste described as sweet and slightly sour. 

Side Yard Farm and Kitchen in Portland first introduced me to the idea that the flowers on my marvelous magnolia were edible. Every year on social media they boast a bounty of harvested pink Magnolia liliiflora petals that they then “quickle” in a sweet pickling brine. The magnolia are claimed to add  “a breath of cardamom-scented ginger, with a whisper of cloves, and, sometimes, camphor” to salsa verde, marinades, dressings, and cocktails. 

As April gets into full swing perhaps some ‘Yellow Bird’ culinary experiments will be afoot. I could use a signature cocktail or magnolia-infused mocktail to sip in the sun. I’ll use it to say cheers to Doris Stone while admiring her beautiful “statement tree.” 

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