Sweet-perfumed, cross(ed) magnolia

Roger Spencer, in the 'Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia', calls this the Ilang Ilang, but I'm not so sure. It's a hybrid between Magnolia champaca (Champac) and Magnolia montana, also called according to Roger, Bai Lan.

In the hard copy of Roger's Flora, the species is classified as Michelia x alba, and online in the HortFlora, Magnolia x alba. This change occurred since the book was first published in 1997 and as I've mentioned before, all Michelia are now considered to be part of a larger Magnolia genus. This plant has also been listed in the past as Michelia x longifolia.

Anyway, following on from last week, another hybrid and another beautiful plant from Burnley Gardens photographed in late April. Also another sterile plant, at least in this part of Australia.

We have it growing in Melbourne Gardens, along with many other intriguing and challenging plants, but this hybrid is not as popular elsewhere as you'd think. That may be due to its frost sensitivity or just lack of adventurous spirit among our home gardeners (and nurseries).

You can see in these photographed flowers the 8-12 white 'petals' and the cluster of 10 green carpels (the female parts), at the centre. The reddish sticks are the male parts, the anthers.

The flowers have a strong and heady perfume, as do many of the species previously included in the genus Michelia - for example, the beautifully scented Port Wine Magnolia, Magnolia (Michelia) figo.

There are plenty of stories of how these fragrant flowers are used locally, from roadside sales in Taiwan to bridal bouquets in Indonesia. In China, oil extracted from the flowers is used to flavour Yulan Tea.

However I suspect Roger may have got the common name Ilang Ilang wrong, even though common names are often misapplied or duplicated. Ilang Ilang, or sometimes Ylang Ylang, is better known as the common name of Cananga odorata, in the Custard Apple family (Annonaceae). That species is the source of the Ylang Ylang oil used for aromatherapy and other whimsies.

There are other common names to chose from for Michelia x alba, such as White Champaca, the source of White Champaca Oil (another aromatherapy favourite), and in Hong Kong, the rather grand White Jade Orchid Tree. I've also seen Bai Yu Lan, meaning White Jade Flower. Maybe Yu Lan or Yulan and transcribed sometimes as Ilang... Maybe.

For me, the big jucy leaves and gorgeous flowers were enough. For Lynda it was a combination of the perfume and floral photogenicity.