On 3/16/2008 4:24 AM, ghb624 wrote:
Wonder if anybody can clear up some confusion here. Please see the
photo, with accompanying caption that explains the question. Thanks
much.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghb624/2336673496/

It looks like a Magnolia soulangeana (saucer magnolia) with the flowers
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.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/