This tree is in Stanley Park, along Lagoon Drive outside the golf course. Are these photos enough to identify it? I don't need a very specific name, but it would be nice to learn something more specific than just magnolia. I don't even know if it's deciduous.
Magnolia wilsonii or M. sieboldii, or one of the other related species in subsect. Oyama. Compare here: M. wilsonii - http://www.kevockgarden.co.uk/plantlist/magnolia_wilsonii.htm M. sieboldii - http://www.flickr.com/photos/25547217@N07/2830549015/
Oyama magnolia, look for groupings of this along the drive to the summit of QE Park also. Wilson magnolia produces generally more elongated, sometimes markedly more slender and pointed-looking leaves on dark twigs and typically has a more open, upward-thrusting, vigorous-looking habit. The largest Oyama magnolia I have seen was in The Glades Rhododendron Garden, a private property near White Rock. As I remember it the height appeared to be at least 15', perhaps as much as 20' - maybe even more - very impressive for that species, within my experience. Jacobson, North American Landscape Trees (1996, Ten Speed, Berkeley) notes one 12' tall and 24' wide at Caerhays measured during 1926, a mere 14 years after planting (based on the dates he gives). The additionally squat habit of this specimen would be likely due to the exposed coastal location of the garden. There is also a somewhat intermediate Chinese version of M. sieboldii that is distinct enough to have been given species rank (as M. sinensis) in the past but this plant is rare in gardens here.
Great. Thanks, Michael and Ron. Michael, that photo on the flickr page is great. I found some flower photos: http://www.paghat.com/oyamablooms.html. Now that I see the flowers, I realize how familiar that tree is. Some page I looked at says it's deciduous.
Like the leaves, infrutescences of Wilson magnolia also tending to be larger and more elongate in appearance than those of Oyama magnolia.