RALEIGH — North Carolina State University professor Thomas G. Ranney has received a patent for a new type of a magnolia tree on Tuesday according to a U.S. Patent and Trademark filing.

The magnolia tree has large red-purple flowers, an upright habit and a late flowering time.

It is similar to a Chinese Magnolia, but the delayed blooming time, often a month later, allows the plant to avoid late spring frosts.

Ranney has received patent grants for more than 30 different types of plants, trees, crops and grass. His research includes developing new bioenergy crops, enhancing the quality of crops, cytogenetics and reproductive biology.

Ranney has been a faculty member at N.C. State for more than 20 years and is currently a professor of horticultural science. He received his B.S. degree from Ohio State University and received his M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

His research program is based in the mountains of Western North Carolina at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River.

The program focuses on the development of bioenergy crops that involve searching for plants that further plant breeding and economic innovation and opportunities.

He has published more than 230 popular and research articles on horticultural topics.

The filing can be found here.

This story is from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Media and Journalism