Our friend Glen from Doone Cottage in Motueka visited Struan Farm last week as part of a quick trip around the North Island seeing family and friends. Discussion topics over dinner included the large pink magnolia tree blooming near the entrance of the Homestead, which is quite spectacular at the moment. For some reason, this year its blossoms are HUGE!
Of course this led us into wanting to know more about them, at which point John whipped out his IPad, not something encouraged at the dinner table at our house, but we all agreed it was okay in this instance and not antisocial. He informed us that magnolias are an ancient genus, are believed to have appeared before bees, being pollinated by beetles. Fossilized specimens have been found dating back 20 million years. Their natural range is east and southeast Asia, with a secondary territory of North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
The next day, being better informed, we spent some time in the photo zone:
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