CUCUMBER TREE; MOUNTAIN MAGNOLIA (Magnolia acurni- 

 nata, Linn.). 60 to 100 feet. Spreading, pyramidal tree, of* 

 small branches and slim twigs with large buds. Bark thin, 

 brown, covered with thin scales. Wood weak, close-grained, 

 yellow-brown, used for flooring and fuel. Leaves oblong, 

 pointed, plain-margined, silky when opening, thin, smooth, 

 yellow-green, pubescent beneath, turning yellow in autumn. 

 Length 6 to 10 niches; width 4 to 6 inches. Petioles 1 to 2 

 inches. Flowers yellowish-green, bell-shaped, erect on ends 

 of twigs, solitary; sepals 3, reflexed; petals 6, tapering to base; 

 stamens and pistils numerous. Fruit ovate, oftener dis- 

 torted, cucumber-like, with seeds in but few follicles; seeds 

 red, hung out on flexible threads. Dist.: Rocky uplands near 

 streams; Ontario to Illinois, Kentucky, and Arkansas; moun- 

 tain slopes of Pennsylvania to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mis- 

 sissippi. Planted as an ornamental and shade tree. 



The Yellow Cucumber Tree, variety cordata of the preceding 

 species, has broad, heart-shaped leaves, dark and almost 

 evergreen, and bright yellow flowers. It has been cultivated 

 in gardens for a century, and improvement in size and color 

 of the flowers has made the wild prototype seem poor by 

 comparison. It grows on the Blue Ridge foothills of South 

 Carolina and in the wilds of central Alabama. 



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