MAGNOLIACEAE 



The Magnolias 

 Characteristics of the Genus Magnolia L. 



HABIT. Handsome trees with straight stems and round- 

 topped, pyramidal crowns; frequently planted as ornamentals. 



LEAVES. Simple; alternate; deciduous or persistent; margins 

 entire; unlobed; sometimes auriculate at base; mostly large 

 and thin and very conspicuous. 



FLOWERS. Perfect; appearing after the leaves; large and 

 usually showy; terminal and solitary; sepals 3; petals 6-15, in 

 series of 3, white or yellow to greenish; stamens and pistils spirally 

 arranged, numerous. 



FRUIT. A large, conelike aggregate of spirally arranged 

 follicles; each follicle 1-2 seeded, the seed drupelike with a 

 scarlet, fleshy outer coat, and suspended from the cone by a 

 long slender thread at maturity. 



TWIGS. Stout; round; aromatic and somewhat bitter tasting; 

 pith homogeneous or nearly so, round; conspicuously marked 

 by large leaf scars and narrow stipular rings. Winter buds: 

 terminal present, large, with a single outer scale, the bud scales 

 being large, membranaceous stipules which are adnate to the 

 base of the petiole and deciduous with the unfolding of each 

 successive leaf. 



BARK. Ash-gray or brown; smooth or scaly. 



WOOD. Rather light and soft; diff'use-porous; light yellow- 

 brown heartwood; unimportant except for cucumbertree, the 

 wood of which is often sold for yellow-poplar, and southern 

 magnolia. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Intolerant; fairly rapid growth; 

 short-lived; deep, wide root systems; typical of moist forest 

 sites; in mixture with other hardwoods. 



GENERAL. About 35 species of magnolia are native to Asia 

 and North America, with 8 species native to the United States. 

 Numerous native and Asiatic species are commonly planted 

 through the southern part of the United States as ornamentals 

 for their showy flowers, which in some species are over a foot 

 in diameter. 



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