Magnolia Flowers

The magnolia trees in Canberra are blossoming with a showy display of sturdy looking flowers. The petals needed to be sturdy, as these trees were around before bees evolved. The first magnolia trees existed over 100 million years ago!

Pollinators

Rather than bees, it was beetles and moths that originally pollinated magnolia trees, so the petals needed to be strong enough to support their pollinators.

Several magnolia species have been documented as edible throughout history, and some common recipes include pickles, teas, dried as a herb, or used fresh in salads. They are said to have a light cardamon taste. However, the flavour differs between species and has been profiled on this blog post. We may have to add this plant to our list for spring foraging adventures.

Pickled magnolia recipe

A simple pickle recipe is to dissolve ¼ cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in 1 cup of apple cider vinegar by heating at a low temperature. Then simply add the vinegar mixture and petals from several magnolia flowers to a jar and refrigerate.

Food for the imagination

We will never be able to look at a magnolia tree the same way again. With its immensely long history and cooking potential, images of beetles, moths and tasty snacks will be in our imagination whenever we see a magnolia tree in flower.