Member Spotlight: Marcela Serna

The Magnolia Society attracts magnoliaphiles from all walks of life and all parts of the world. This month, we catch up with Marcela Serna. Marcela is a board member of the Magnolia Society International and is from Colombia.

Q: Tell us about yourself

Marcela:  I am a lecturer of botany, bioethics, ecology and biodiversity at Tecnológico de Antioquia – University Institute. This is an academic institution of higher education located in Medellin, Colombia.

Q: How did you originally get interested in magnolias?

Marcela:  I started to get interested in Magnolias when I had to look for one of them: Magnolia polyhypsophylla (Critically Endangered in the Red Book of Plants of Columbia). The trees were very hard to find and I found this species to be magnificent. Medellin Botanical Garden lead a Magnolias project and I was one of the team members involved with it. After the project, I obtained a Master's Degree of Forests and Conservation in which I researched the phylogenetic relationships of Dugandiodendron in Magnoliaceae. I continue to look for populations in Colombia and information related to the ecology of Colombian Magnolias to protect them.

Q:  What magnolia do you like the best?

Marcela:  I do not know which one would be my favorite. I do love the hybrids from US with such beautiful colors. Here in Colombia I like M. katiorum, M. jardinensis. M. silvioi, M. yarumalensis...well, many of them! I really do not know!!