The Dinosaur Flowers

Magnolias are a contradiction in time. They bloom for a few weeks at the start of spring, then they die. From extroverts to introverts, from celebrities to has-beens. The magnolia tree has been carrying on like this for at least 100 million years. They shared ancient Cretaceous landscapes with T-Rex, and many other long extinct creatures. Magnolia flowers had large and strange stamens, and they still do,  because in dinosaur times the bees did not yet exist, so dinosaurs had no honey, and prehistoric beetles crawled into the flowers at night to do the job of pollinating. . Also, the flowers make a delicious, spicy, gingery pickle. A lot changes on this planet in quick time: history, religion, weather, species, war and fashion. I can’t say magnolias have seen many things, but they have stood and flowered amongst them for countless full moons.