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Magnolias and the Tulip Tree — Part 3

The cucumber tree is the hardiest species of native magnolias. Its great leaves betray its sub-tropical affiliations. No tree but the catalpa can match it in the North, and this does not venture by itself farther than the latitude of southern Indiana. Against the foliage mass of oaks and elms and maples the great clean leaves of the cucumber tree form a striking contrast. They are silky at first, but when mature keep only a fringe of hairs on the veins beneath. In autumn the tree turns yellow before the leaves drop. The elevated leaf scars almost encircle the silky winter buds.

Cucumber trees make less show in the period of blossoming than other magnolias. The yellowish-green tulip-like flowers, though large, are scarcely distinguishable at a little distance from the new leaves by which they are surrounded. They are neither beautiful nor pleasantly fragrant. The elongated fruits look like pale green cucumbers at first, but are soon distorted in form by the failure of many of the carpels to set seed. The fleshy green cone flushes pink, and later turns red as autumn approaches. In September each mature carpel splits open and two scarlet seeds hang out, each on an elastic thread. The wind buffets them until they dangle several inches below the conical fruit. Then a gust tears them off, and if they fall in moist leaf mould or on the damp border of a stream, young cucumber trees spring up from this planting.

The cucumber tree is not yet appreciated as a shade and avenue tree in the Northern States. It has few faults and many virtues. It grows vigorously from seed and after transplanting. The digging and planting must be carefully managed, as the fleshy roots of all magnolias are brittle. Since the tree is comparatively rare in the northern part of its range, nursery stock or seed should be planted rather than stripling trees from the woods.

The Yellow Cucumber Tree has been cultivated in gardens for over a century. It has bright yellow blossoms, and dark, almost evergreen leaves. In the wilds of central Alabama and the Blue Ridge of South Carolina has been found the yellow-flowered prototype of this garden form. It is named for its broad, heart-shaped leaves, var. cordata, of Magnolia acuminata. In cultivation the variety has been considerably modified.

Umbrella Tree (Magnolia tripetala, Linn.)--A round-topped or conical tree 30 to 40 feet high, of irregular habit, with stout contorted branches and twigs. Bark thin, grey, smooth, with bristly warts. Wood close, soft, pale brown, weak; sap wood yellow. Buds: terminal, purplish with pale bloom, pointed, 1 inch long; lateral, round, short, reddish brown. Leaves 16 to 20 inches long, obovate, acute, entire, tapering narrowly to the stout petiole, smooth, thin, bright green. Flowers white, cup shaped, of unpleasant odour, 4 to 5 inches deep, soon spreading open, the 3 sepals recurved. Fruit elongated, smooth, 2 to 4 inches long, rose coloured when ripe; seeds 1/2 inch long. Preferred habitat, swamp borders and banks of mountain streams. Distribution, Pennsylvania to southern Alabama, northeastern Mississippi and southwestern Arkansas. Nearly to the coast in South Atlantic States. Uses: An ornamental tree in temperate regions of Eastern States and Europe.

The flower of this magnolia is surrounded by an umbrella-like whorl of leaves. The whole tree, indeed, suggests an umbrella, so closely thatched is its dome with the glossy leaves. The twigs have a peculiar habit of striking out at right angles from an erect branch, then turning up into a position parallel with the parent branch. This feature, combined with the inevitable forking of each twig that bears a flower, gives the branches angularity and tends to destroy the symmetry of the dome.

The three recurved sepals are the distinctive feature of the flower. The whole tree is smooth, except when its young shoots unfold. The silky hairs are soon shed. Altogether, this is one of the trimmest and handsomest of our native magnolias. It attains large size in the Arnold Arboretum, proving it hardy in southern New England.

Ear-leaved Magnolia, Mountain Magnolia (Magnolia Fraseri, Walt.)--Tree 30 to 40 feet high, with small, broad crown above slender, often leaning trunk. Branches stout, angular, erect. Bark thin, brown, smooth, with warty patches. Wood brownish yellow, weak, soft. Buds smooth, purplish; terminal 1 to 2 inches long; axillary very small. Leaves obovate, acute, with ear-shaped lobes at base, 10 to 12 inches long, bright green, smooth, whorled near end of branchlet. Flowers creamy white, fragrant, spreading, 8 to 10 inches across, petals narrowed at base. Fruit oblong, 4 to 5 inches long, bright rose at maturity; carpels with long horny tips, seeds 5/8 inch long. Preferred habitat, well-drained soil along mountain streams. Distribution, valleys of Appalachian Mountains from Virginia and Tennessee to Georgia, Alabama and northern Mississippi; abundant in South Carolina along headwaters of the Savannah River. Uses: Cultivated in gardens of Eastern States and in Europe. Hardy to New England.

The eared leaves of this tree and the prominent horns that decorate its brilliant seed cones readily distinguish it from the preceding species, which it resembles in habit and in the whorled leaf arrangement. The two are alike in their adaptability to culture far outside of their natural range. Each has proved successful as a hardy stock upon which to graft half-hardy exotic varieties. Planted in the Northern States, these trees seem to hold their own even with M. acuminata. A peculiarity of the mountain magnolia, umbrella tree and large-leaved cucumber tree is that the foliage of all three falls without any perceptible change of colour. The leaves are pretty much frayed and blemished before falling.