Magnolia liliiflora lily magnolia

Rich purplish magenta tepals of Magnolia liliiflora in the School of Education courtyard (now removed). Sairus Patel, 4 Mar 2018

Magnolia liliiflora, Lomita Mall (now removed). John Rawlings, 20 Feb 2005

Large purple, tulip-shaped flowers distinguish this deciduous, modest-sized magnolia which has long been under cultivation in Japan and China, whence it was brought to Europe in the 18th century. The branchlets are a deep purple. The flower bud bracts are covered in light yellow hairs. The outermost 3 tepals are small and narrow, falling early. It blooms in February and early March, later than other deciduous magnolias on campus; new foliage emerges during bloom or just after.

A substantial specimen is at the corner at 483 Channing Avenue, Palo Alto, partially under the canopy of a ginkgo. A smaller one is at 2341 Columbia Street. Campus has lost recent examples, including one at the School of Education north courtyard, removed during renovation in 2024, and another on Lomita Mall near Jane Stanford Way among the viburnum. A specimen reported in front of Bechtel International Center is also no more.

Name derivation: Magnolia – Pierre Magnol, 1638–1715, botanist of Montpellier.