16 MAGNOLIACE^E. (MAGNOLIA FAMILY.) 



pel at maturity opening on the back, from which the 1 or 2 berry-like seeds hang 

 by an extensile thread composed of unrolled spiral vessels. Inner seed-coat 

 bony. Buds conical, the coverings formed of the successive pairs of stipules, 

 each pair enveloping the leaf next above, which is folded lengthwise, and ap- 

 plied straight against the side of the next stipular sheath, and so on. (Named 

 after Magnol, Professor of Botany at Montpellier in the 17th century.) 

 * Leaves all scattered along the branches : buds silky. 



1. M. glaiica, L. (SMALL or LAUREL MAGNOLIA. SWEET BAY.) 

 Leaves oblong or oval, obtuse, white beneath ; petals white, rouuded-obovate ; cone 

 of fruit small, obloug. Swamps, from near Cape Ann and New York south- 

 ward, near the coast ; in Pennsylvania as far west as Cumberland Co. Juiie- 

 Aug. Shrub 4 - 20 high, with thickish leaves, which farther south are ever 

 green, and sometimes oblong-lanceolate. Flower very fragrant, 2' - 3' broad. 



2. HI. aciliiiiimta, L. (CUCUMBER-TREE.) Leaves oblong, pointed, 

 green and a little pubescent beneath ; petals glaucous-green tinged with yellow, 

 oblong; cone of fruit small, cylindrical. Rich woods, W. New York, Penn., 

 Ohio, and southward. May, June. Tree 60-90 feet high. Leaves thin, 5'- 

 10' long. Flower 3' broad. Fruit 2' -3' long, when young slightly resembling 

 a small cucumber, whence the common name. 



3. HI. macropliylla, Michx. (GREAT-LEAVED MAGNOLIA.) leaves 

 obovate-oblong, cordate at the narrowed base, pubescent and white beneath ; petals 

 white, with a purple spot inside at the base, ovate ; cone of fruit ovoid. Roek- 

 castle and Kentucky Rivers, S. E. Kentucky. Occasionally planted farther 

 north. May, June. Tree 20 -40 high. Leaves 2 -3 long. Flower 

 8' -10' broad when outspread. 



* * Leaves crowded on the summit of the flowering branches in an umbrella-like 

 circle : buds glabrous. 



4. HI. Uml>rella, Lam. (UMBRELLA-TREE.) Leaves obovate-lanceotatc, 

 pointed at both ends, soon glabrous, petals obovate-oblong. (M. tripetala, L.) 

 Mountains of Penn. (and W. New York?) to Virginia and Kentucky along 

 the Alleghanies. May. A small tree. Leaves 1- 2 long. Flowers white, 

 7' -8' broad. Fruit rose-color, 4' -5' long, ovoid-oblong. 



5. HI. Fraseri, Walt. (EAR-LEAVED UMBRELLA-TREK.) Lnws ob- 

 1o)H/-obo/-(itf; or sjifihtldff, tmricnhttc. at the base, glabrous; petals obovate-spatulate. 

 with narrow claws. (M. auricula ta, Lam.} Virginia and Kentucky along the 

 Alleghanies, arid southward. April, May. Tree 30 - 50 high. Leaves 8' - 

 12' long. Flower (white) and fruit smaller than in the preceding. 



M. <:oui>\TA, Michx., the YELLOW ( 'i < TMISKK i -I.-KK. of Georgia, and 

 M. GRANinrLouA, L., the GREAT LAII;I;L MAGNOLIA, of the Southern 

 States (a noble tree, remarkable for its deliciouslv fragrant, ilowers, and thick 

 evergreen leaves, which are shilling and deep green above and rusty-colored be- 

 neath), are the only remaining North American species. The former is hardy 

 as far north as Cambridge. One tree of the latter bears the winter and blos- 

 soms near Philadelphia. The Umbrella-tree attains only a s jiall size in New 

 England, where M. maerophylla is precarious. 



