In spite of their giant size, magnolia flowers are very delicate and only last about 24 hours in the heat of the summer. Here you see the middle one fully open, one that probably opened yesterday (left), and the center of one that's already lost it's petals. This center is the fruit. Later this fall, it will turn brown and be filled with a bunch of bright red (kidney bean-sized) seeds. They sort of remind me of a pine cone.
