Michelia figo is sturdy, dense, evergreen shrub with a rounded and bushy habit.
It is grown for its wonderful magnolia like creamy-yellow flowers with red maroon splashes towards the centre and red-maroon margins.
The flowers are produced during spring and summer and have an unusual fragrance as they smell of bananas.
The leaves are large, oblong, deep green and glossy, so even when the plant is not flowering they appear majestic and tropical.