Magnolias make quite a few appearances in pop culture, especially in the southern US. Most famous of these, is the film Steel Magnolias, –which is more fully discussed on another page. If you haven’t seen it, you should. For more magnolia trivia, keep reading. You’ll be a hit at your next garden party or picnic, if only because you know more about magnolias than the average encyclopedia.
- Magnolia bark has amazing medicinal properties, and its been used in China for centuries; it even has practically applications in treating Alzheimer’s disease.
- Sugar Magnolia is the second most live-played song by the Grateful Dead
- The song ‘Magnolia’ is a popular Brazilian tune by pop musician Jorge Ben Jor, from Rio.
- Tiana is called “pretty as a magnolia in May” by Charlotte in the instant Disney classic ‘The Princess and the Frog’
- Magnolias have existed on earth for over 95 million years, according to the fossil record
- Magnolia trees are notoriously hardy; once they make it into maturity, magnolias are almost impossible to kill, and can even survive major droughts
- Magnolias are the state flower of Mississippi; it’s called “the Magnolia State” because it has so many of them there
- Siebold’s Magnolia (white magnolia with a deep red center) is the national flower of North Korea.
There is more than one great movie with ‘magnolia’ in the title as well; Magnolia (1999), directed, written and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s an “epic” film, –not used in the slang sense, so much as the incredibly long, and full of characters, sense. The film is a bit like Crash (2004), in that it deals with several characters, all interrelated in little ways, all experiencing their own private, tragic and comedic existences. Anderson ties them together with details, and has an amazing all-star cast to keep the audience riveted. Cast members include Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, and John C. Reilly.