Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Touch of Class’ produces rich red-purple flowers with cream-white margins on the tepals and cream-white interiors in the spring. The flowers typically have nine tepals that are around 12cm long by 7cm wide, and they emit a light, fruity fragrance. Magnolia x soulangeana is deciduous, not native to New Zealand, and a hybrid between Magnolia denudata and Magnolia liliiflora. Learn more about Magnolia x soulangeana. Magnolia x soulangeana probably occurred spontaneously in Japanese gardens or nurseries a long time ago. However, it was first recognised from deliberate crosses made by Étienne Soulange-Bodin (1774 – 1846). Étienne was a retired cavalry officer in Napoleon’s army who became a plantsman and gardener. He first made the Magnolia x soulangeana cross in 1820 at his home in Fromont, France. Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Touch of Class’ was selected in 1994 by Vance Hooper at Duncan & Davies Nurseries in New Plymouth, New Zealand.