THE MOUNTAIN MAGNOLIA OR CUCUMBER TREE 



THE Cucumber Tree derives its common name from the curious fruit, which when 

 green is very suggestive of a cucumber. The tree is also called the Mountain 

 Magnolia, being a typical representative of the Magnolia family, and growing 

 in abundance upon the mountain sides. It is a Southern species, ranging from Ontario 

 and New York to Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi. The species is hardy further 

 north than the region to which it is indigenous, and is often utilized for ornamental plant- 

 ing in New York and other States. 



When growing in the open, the Cucumber Tree assumes the conical form shown in 

 the noble specimen pictured on the plate. As will be noticed, the lower branches sweep 

 the ground and the general outline of the massive foliage has great beauty as seen against 

 the horizon. Although the leaves are large, their shining green color and abundance on 

 the branches give the tree a most pleasing effect. When growing in the forests of the 

 mountain valleys of the Carolinas, where the crowding together has compelled each tree 

 to shoot upward in order to get light and air, the trunks rise as massive columns bare of 

 twigs or branches for thirty or forty feet before spreading out into the head. The flowers 

 appear in late spring or early summer, being of a yellow or greenish-yellow color, and of 

 a form suggestive of the blossoms of the nearly related Tulip Tree. After the petals have 

 fallen the gradual development of the curious fruit takes place, these changing to a dark 

 red color as they ripen, and casting out the large berries in the interesting fashion pictured 

 on the plate. These berries hang on threads for a longer or shorter time until finally they 

 are eaten by various birds, by means of which the black seeds inside are scattered to new 

 localities. 



The chief objection to this tree for ornamental planting is that it has a tendency to 

 drop the leaves more or less through the summer. This objection may be obviated by 

 planting the variety named cordata by Professor Sargent because the leaves are often 

 heart-shaped at the base. This variety has been cultivated as an ornamental tree for many 

 years, its leaves being broader and darker green, and less liable to fall off than those of 

 the typical Cucumber Tree. Its flowers also are smaller and of a brighter yellow color, 

 so that it has decided advantages for use in landscape planting. 



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