I 



ANGIOSPERM TREES 29S 



influenced by the quality of the habitat, red gum reaches 

 maturity in two to three hundred years, and undoubtedly lives 

 beyond that age. The wood is grayish to reddish brown, moder- 

 ately hard and heavy, either straight-grained or with interlocking 

 grain. Because of the attractive star-shaped leaves, which turn a 

 brilliant crimson in the autumn, the species is used as an orna- 

 mental in the milder portions of the northern United States. 



The Magnolias 



The CUCUMBER TREE and magnolias {Magnolia) are especially 

 well known for their large, showy flowers, which in some species 



Fig. 212. — ^The Magnolia is a native southeastern tree well known for its large 

 and conspicuous flowers. 



grow to be a foot in diameter (fig. 212). Of nine species found in 

 North America, some are deciduous and some evergreen. The 

 alternate, sometimes waxy or shiny leaves are oval or elliptical in 

 shape, with entire or wavy margins; they are among the largest 

 of Angiosperm leaves, their size varying from six inches in some 

 species up to thirty inches in others. The twigs are rather stout, 



