The Natural History of Magnolia ovata (Magnoliaceae)

This is the flowering, pollination and fruiting of Magnolia ovata (Magnoliaceae), a widespread brazilian tree. This tree is locally known as "Pinha do brejo" or "Baguaçu". The huge flowers are pollinated by beetles. The gynoecium is apocarpous and each carpel turns into a folicle after pollination. The walls of adjacent follicles get secondarily fused. When the fruits are ripe, the walls rupture irregularly exposing the seeds attached onto the lignified receptacle. The seeds are covered by an oily, red sarcotesta and hang from vessels with spiral thickenings. Birds eagerly look after the seeds and are the main dispersers. The germination is epigeous. Music: fragment of Beethoven's 5th Simphony (Heroica)