March 20 2008

Text By Meera Sethi

Magnolias are ancient flowers; their ancestors were throwing up deep, heady blossoms as long ago as 145 million years. Perhaps they were fertilized by Gigantosaurus poop or sniffed by the huge nostrils of wandering Tyrannosaurus Rex.

They're older than bees, so Magnolia flowers evolved to be pollinated by beetles. After enticing the beetles into their intoxicatingly pink interiors, some Magnolias entrap their insect friends overnight, allowing them to leave only when the flowers have begun to shed pollen. I'd say that sounds like a pretty sexy deal on both sides.

Looking at this photograph it's almost possible to imagine yourself as a Cretaceous-era beetle, heading up the stem of a Cretaceous-era Magnolia, readying for a night of floral passion in an astonishingly beautiful boudoir. The world was new, then, and wild, and wonderful, and these Magnolias offer hope that it hasn't changed that much.