About Magnolia obovata Thunb.
Magnolia obovata Thunb. is a medium-sized deciduous tree that grows 15 to 30 meters tall, with slate grey bark. Its leaves are large, measuring 16–38 cm long and 9–20 cm wide, rarely reaching up to 50 cm long and 25 cm broad. The leaves are leathery, green on the upper surface, and silvery or greyish and pubescent on the lower surface, with an acute apex. They grow in whorls of five to eight leaves at the end of each shoot. The flowers are also large, cup-shaped, and 15–20 cm in diameter, with 9 to 12 creamy, fleshy tepals and red stamens. The flowers have a strong scent, and bloom in early summer after leaves have fully expanded. The fruit is an oblong-cylindric aggregate of follicles 12–20 cm long and 6 cm broad, with a bright pinkish red color. Each follicle holds one or two black seeds covered in a fleshy orange-red coating. The wood of Magnolia obovata Thunb. is strong, light, and easy to work with, so it is sought after by craftsmen. In parts of Japan, its large leaves are used to wrap food, and also used as a makeshift dish for grilling meat or vegetables, such as leeks, mushrooms, and miso in the dish hoba miso.
