210 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



flowers, which are single and situated at the extremity of the 

 branches, are two or three inches broad, white, and composed 

 of several concave, oval petals. Near Charleston in South 

 Carolina, this tree blossoms in May and a month later in the 

 neighborhood of Philadelphia and New York. The fruit is 

 small, green and conical, composed of a great number of cellules, 

 and varying in length from an inch to an inch and a half. When 

 ripe, the seeds, which are of a scarlet color, burst their cells, 

 and remain some days suspended without, by white, lax, slender 

 filaments. 



The wood of this tree, which is of a white color and very 

 light, is employed for no use in the arts. The bark of the roots 

 has an aromatic odor and a bitter taste. Some of the inhabitants 

 drink an infusion of it in brandy, as a slight sudorific for rheumatic 

 affections. They also steep the cones in spirituous liquor, 

 which renders it very bitter ; they regard it as a preservative 

 against autumnal fevers. 



Big Laurel. Magnolia grandiflora. 



PLATE LIV 

 Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. 



A cone. 



Of all the trees of North 

 America, east of the Missis- 

 sippi, the Big Laurel is the 

 most remarkable for the 

 majesty of its form, the 

 magnificence of its foliage 

 and the beauty of its flowers. 

 It is first seen in the lower 

 part of North Carolina, near 

 the river Neuse, in the lati- 

 tude of 35; proceeding 

 from this point it is found in 

 the maritime parts of the 

 Southern States and of the 

 Floridas, and as far up the 

 Mississippi as Natches, 300 

 miles above New Orleans, 



