This weeks photo was taken along Cameron Street just West of our apartment. The flowers were so impressive Sara and I actually first spotted them from the car as we drove by. Not being familiar with Magnolias it took a little research before I discovered their identity. The genus Magnolia is ancient, predating the radiation of bees and is adapted to beetle pollination with tough carpels to limit seed predation. From my research the variety ‘Copeland Court’ (& several other named varieties) were derived from a single tree grown from wild Magnolia sprengeri seeds collected in Hubei, China by Ernest Henry Wilson in 1901. These flowers are truly impressive with 12 rose tepals each almost 15 cm in length. Like most impressive displays in nature this one is short lived with these trees flowering for a scant two weeks.