Page 217 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

M

Magnolia

mu-lan

From time immemorial, the Chinese have been growing magnolias in many varieties,
both tree and shrub. In ancient times only the Emperor was entitled to own this flower:
from time to time he would bestow a magnolia root on someone who had earned the
imperial favour.
Formerly, the buds, the fruit and the woody parts were used as curatives, e.g. for
anaemia. One kind of magnolia, known as hou-po and found in Sichuan, yields a Chinese
medicine with remarkable restorative powers. Most of the medicinally valuable material
is found in the bark, which is exported all over the world.

Magnolia, peony and wild apple