I have never seen this before in our Magnolia tree; it appears to be seeds that have appeared from within one of the flower pods. Most certainly attached to the tree, it hasn 't been dropped there by birds, so I'm guessing it's seeds.
We've had the Magnolia longer than we've been in this house (I dug it up from last house (along with the Labernum that is in the front garden) and brought it with us (it had two choices at the end of the day)). I've pulled a couple of these off and planted them elsewhere in the garden, you never know ................
thank you for your continued views, comments and favs on my offerings.