51. MAGNOLIA GLAUCA SWEET BAY. 13 



ish beneath, 3-6 in. long, deciduous late or in the south evergreen; leaf -buds 

 silky. Flowers (May-Aug.) white, globular, very fragrant and with cup-shaped, 

 roundish petals about 2 in. long. Fruit a small oblong cone, 1-1 in. long, reddish 

 at maturity and bearing scarlet seeds. 



(The specific name, glauca, is from the Greek yXavnoS, bluish gray, in allusion 

 to the under surface of the leaf.) 



A tree sometimes attaining the dimensions of 70 ft. (21 m.) in height, 

 and 3 ft. (0.90 m.) or more in diameter of trunk, with smooth, gray bark 

 which on very old trees becomes slightly roughened with small longi- 

 tudinal fissures. It is deservedly popular for its handsome, fragrant 

 flowers, and later for its scarcely less handsome, cone-like fruit, varying 

 with age from green to light red at maturity, when each carpel opens 

 and lets out one or two scarlet seeds, remaining suspended for a time 

 by slender, white filaments. The bark and leaves possess a bitter aro- 

 matic flavor. 



HABITAT. From Massachusetts southward along the seaboard, in 

 moist swampy soil, to Florida and Texas, reaching its greatest develop- 

 ment in the south, while in the northern part of its range it is a mere 

 shrub. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood soft, light, close-grained, not strong, 

 compact, of a light-brown color, and with abundant creamy-white sap- 

 wood. Specific Gravity, 0.5035; Percentage of Ash, 0.47; Relative Ap- 

 proximate Fuel Value, 0.5011; Coefficient of Elasticity, 91299; Modulus 

 of Rupture, 736; Resistance to Longitudinal Pressure, 424; Resistance 

 to Indentation, 102; Weight of a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 31.38. 



USES. The wood is used to a moderate extent in the manufacture of 

 small wooden-ware, but the chief value of the species lies in its handsome 

 flowers and foliage, which place it in the foremost ranks for ornamental 

 purposes. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. The bark especially of the root of this 

 species, in common with several other Magnolias, possesses gently stimu- 

 lant, aromatic, tonic and diaphoretic properties. It is useful in the treat- 

 ment of chronic rheumatism and intermittent and remittent fevers.* 

 (See medicinal properties mentioned of Magnolia acuminata, Part I, 

 pp. 39-40.) 



ORDER ILICINEAE: HOLLY FAMILY. 



Leaves simple, mostly alternate, coriaceous, ex-stipulate and mostly evergreen. 

 Flowers small, white or greenish, axillary, 4-8-numerous and sometimes dioecious; 

 calyx minute, free, imbricated in the bud; corolla regular, cleft or almost parted, 

 hypogynous, imbricated in the bud; stamens as many as the divisions of the corolla, 

 alternate with them and attached to their base; anthers adnate, opening lengthwise; 

 ovary free from the calyx, 4-8-celled, with a sinsrle suspended ovule in each cell; 

 stigmas 4-8 or united into one, nearly sessile. Fruit drupaceous, with 4-8 anatro- 

 pous seeds containing large fleshy albumen and minute embryo. 



Trees and shrubs of over one hundred species, some of considerable economic value. 



*U. S. Dispensatory, 16th ed., pp. 949-950. 



