View source for Magnolia soulangeana

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Magnoliaceae
|genus=Magnolia
|species=soulangeana
|common_name=Saucer magnolia
|name_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|habit=tree
|habit_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|Min ht box=20
|Min ht metric=ft
|Max ht box=30
|Max ht metric=ft
|height_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|lifespan=perennial
|life_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|exposure=sun
|water=moist
|water_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|features=deciduous, flowers
|flower_season=early spring
|flower_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|flowers=purple, pink, white
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=4
|usda_ref=Complete Landscaping - ISBN 9780376009272
|max_zone=9.5
|image=Magnolia x soulangeana (Jean Tosti).jpg
|image_width=200
|image_caption=''Magnolia'' × ''soulangeana''
}}
'''''Magnolia'' × ''soulangeana''''' ('''saucer magnolia''') is a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] [[plant]] in the genus ''[[Magnolia]]'' and family [[Magnoliaceae]]. It is a deciduous tree with large, early-blooming flowers in various shades of white, pink, and purple. It is one of the the most commonly used magnolias in horticulture, being widely planted in the [[British Isles]], especially in the south of [[England]]; and in the [[United States]], especially the east and west coasts. <ref name="Gardiner00">{{cite book|last=Gardiner|first=Jim|title=Magnolias: A Gardener's Guide|publisher=Timber Press|location=Portland, Oregon|date=2000|pages=265–80|isbn=0-88192-446-6}}</ref>

Growing as a multistemmed large shrub or small tree, ''Magnolia'' × ''soulangeana'' has alternate, simple, shiny, dark green oval-shaped [[leaf|leaves]] on stout stems. Its flowers emerge dramatically on a bare tree in early spring, with the deciduous leaves expanding shortly thereafter, lasting through summer until autumn.<ref name="Gardiner00"/>

''Magnolia'' × ''soulangeana'' flowers are large, commonly 10-20 cm (4-8 in) across, and colored various shades of white, pink, and maroon.  An American variety, 'Grace McDade' from [[Alabama]], is reported to bear the largest flowers, with a 35 cm (14 in) diameter, white tinged with pinkish-purple.<ref name="Gardiner00"/>  The exact timing and length of flowering varies between named varieties, as does the shape of the flower. Some are globular, others a cup-and-saucer shape.

''Magnolia'' × ''soulangeana'' is notable for its ease of cultivation, and its relative tolerance to wind and alkaline soils (two vulnerabilities of many other magnolias). 

{{Inc|
Magnolia soulangeana, Soul. (M. denudata x M. liliflora). Intermediate between the parents. Popular large- shrub or small tree: lvs. obovate to obovate-oblong: fls. large, campanulate, white, more or less purplish outside, often fragrant; sepals usually colored, sometimes almost as long, sometimes hardly half as long as petals, rarely small and greenish. May. Var. Lennei, Rehd. Nearer to M. liliflora. More shrubby: fls. large, deep crimson outside, late. Var. Niemetzii, Hort. A fastigiate form.

There are many other named varieties, varying in color and flowering-time, as var. Alexandrina, Hort., fls. outside toward the base deep purple, white inside, one of the earliest; var. alba superba, Hort., white; var. Brozzonii, Hort., fls. white, shaded purple ; var. cyathiformis, Hort. Rinz., cup-shaped, light purple; var. grandis, Hort. Rinz., white, outer petals purple at base and in the middle; var. Norbertiana, Hort., white and light purple, one of the latest to bloom; var. rustica (M. rustica fl. rubro, Hort.), deep purple outside; var. speciosa, Hort., white, striped purple outside; var. triumphans, Hort., pink toward the base outside. These hybrids are among the most popular magnolias on account of their early, bright-colored fls.: they are showier and hardier than the preceding species.
}}