Help with identification of tree

[ghb624]

Wonder if anybody can clear up some confusion here. Please see the photo, with accompanying caption that explains the question. Thanks much.

[Fluffball]

Can you describe what the leaves look like, when it has some?

I don't know where in the world you are, but here in the UK they are typically starting to flower right now, but without leaves.

[Tom J]

Tree in north Georgia. Here, it's more like a 10 to 20 foot tall bush than it is a tree.

Tom J

[dr-solo]

[David E. Ross]

not yet fully open, possibly the variety 'Rustica Rubra'. This grows more as a large shrub than a tree, reaching 25 ft in both height and width; but it can be pruned to grow tree-like. Here in southern California, the first bloom period is ending; it began in January. With favorable summer weather, there will be a second bloom period early in the fall.

Because of the shape of the flowers, M. soulangeana is sometimes called a tulip tree. However the real tulip tree -- Liriodendron tulipfera -- has greenish-yellow flowers. The confusion in common names is understandable since L. tulipfera is in the magnolia family although in a different genus.

M. soulangeana (more properly M. x soulangeana) is a hybrid, a cross between M. denudata (Yulan magnolia) and M. liliflora (lily magnolia). All three are deciduous. The southern magnolia (M. grandiflora), which comes to mind with many people when they hear "magnolia", is a very large broad-leaf evergreen that has creamy white flowers in the summer.

You might want to look up other magnolias, concentrating on deciduous species with saucer-like flowers.

[ghb624]

Excellent, this is all very helpful. Re location, it's Huntsville AL, the Tennessee River Valley, not far from the AL-TN state line. Thanks much.