Magnolia is an ancient genus. Fossilized specimens of M. acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago (mya), and fossils of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae date to 95 mya. They are theorized to have evolved to encourage pollination by beetles as they existed prior to the evolution of bees. Another aspect of Magnolia considered to represent an ancestral state is that the flower bud is enclosed in a bract rather than in sepals; the perianth parts are undifferentiated and called tepals rather than distinct sepals and petals. Magnolia shares the tepal characteristic with several other flowering plants near the base of the flowering plant lineage, such as Amborella and Nymphaea (as well as with many more recently derived plants, such as Lilium).
Magnolia is an ancient genus. Fossilized specimens of M. acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago (mya), and fossils of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae date to 95 mya. They are theorized to have evolved to encourage pollination by beetles as they existed prior to the evolution of bees. Another aspect of Magnolia considered to represent an ancestral state is that the flower bud is enclosed in a bract rather than in sepals; the perianth parts are undifferentiated and called tepals rather than distinct sepals and petals. Magnolia shares the tepal characteristic with several other flowering plants near the base of the flowering plant lineage, such as Amborella and Nymphaea (as well as with many more recently derived plants, such as Lilium).