condiment. In some Asian cuisines, the buds are pickled and used to flavor rice and scent tea. In Japan, the young leaves and flower buds of Magnolia hypoleuca are broiled and eaten as a vegetable. Older leaves are made into a powder and used as seasoning; dried, whole leaves are placed on a charcoal brazier and filled with miso, leeks, daikon, and shiitake, and broiled. There is a type of miso which is seasoned with magnolia, hoba miso. Traditional medicine The bark and flower buds of M. officinalis have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine, where they are known as hou po (厚朴). In Japan, kōboku, M. obovata, has been used in a similar manner. Timber The cucumbertree, M. acuminata, grows to large size and is harvested as a timber tree in northeastern US forests. Its wood is sold as "yellow poplar" along with that of the tuliptree, Liriodendron tulipifera. The Fraser magnolia, M. fraseri, also attains enough size sometimes to be harvested, as well. Other uses Magnolias are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the giant leopard moth. Chemical compounds and bioeffects The aromatic bark contains magnolol, honokiol, 4-O-methylhonokiol, and obovatol. Magnolol and honokiol activate the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. Culture Symbols White or Yulan magnolia (subgenus Yulania) is the official flower of the Chinese metropolis Shanghai. Magnolia grandiflora is the official state flower of both Mississippi and Louisiana. The flower's abundance in Mississippi is reflected in its nickname of "Magnolia State" and the state flag. The magnolia is also the official state tree of Mississippi. One of the many nicknames for the city of Houston is "Magnolia City". Historically, magnolias have been associated with the Southern United States. Magnolia sieboldii is the national flower of North Korea. Magnolia sieboldii is the official flower of Gangnam. Arts Film and television Paul Thomas Anderson created a movie titled Magnolia. Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy-drama film about the bond among a group of women from Louisiana, who can be as beautiful as magnolias, but are as tough as steel. The name 'magnolia' specifically refers to a magnolia tree about which they are arguing at the beginning. Music The folksong "Bungong Jeumpa", from Aceh, Indonesia, means magnolia flower. The French song by Salvatore Adamo "Les collines de Rabiah" in the 1970s describes the magnolia trees in Beirut and calls for peace.