STUDIES OF LEAF AND TREE (PART II) 



BY R. W. SHUFELDT, C.M.Z.S. 



THROUGHOUT the range of their distribution, 

 nearly every one is more or less familiar with the 

 magnolia trees ; and those who have given the sub- 

 ject any attention will be able to tell how to distinguish 

 them. In the first place, the Magnolia family (Mag- 

 noliaceae) contains but two genera of trees : the true mag- 

 nolias (Magnolia), of which there are some fifteen spe- 

 cies, and the Tulip tree or Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron 

 tulipifera), of which there is but this single species. 

 Figs. 17 and 18 are here 

 introduced to illustrate the 

 magnolia trees, while the 

 tulip tree will be touched 

 upon in Part III. of the 

 present series of articles. 



From whatever angle we 

 view the magnolias as a 

 group, they are interesting 

 and inspiring. Their un- 

 usual forms; their superb 

 flowers (in several of the 

 species), as well as their 

 gigantic leaves and general 

 coloring, will appeal to any 

 one capable of being sway- 

 ed through such influences. 

 We have no trees growing 

 wild in this country having 

 larger flowers, or more 

 striking characters than 

 these ; moreover, magnolias 

 are an extremely old group 

 geologically ; and, largely 

 through the Northern 

 Hemisphere, we have dis- 

 covered in places enor- 

 mous forests of these trees 

 in a thoroughly fossilized 

 condition. Upon being 

 studied and compared, they 

 point undeniably to the con- 

 clusion that in those early 

 ages of the world's history 

 magnolias of various spe- 

 cies flourished abundantly 

 within the Arctic circle, and from thence outward to 

 the Equator. Their present-day representation is but 

 a fraction as compared with the grand army of their 

 ancestors of past ages. 



It was established long ago that the wood of the mag- 

 nolias was of little or no use to man, so the use of the 

 trees for commercial purposes has practically been aban- 

 doned. Some of the species, however, are suffering 



THE SWAMP MAGNOLIA IN FLOWER (Magnolia glatica). FROM THE 

 SHAW LILY PONDS NEAR WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Fig. IS The flowers of this elegant tree are very fragrant and of beau- 

 tiful formation. 



severely on account of being used in other ways entire- 

 ly unnecessary ones, unfortunately. In the case of the 

 Great Laurel Magnolia (M. foetida) for example one 

 of the splendid southern species there is, at Christmas, 

 an enormous demand for its elegant evergreen foliage 

 leaves so dark and glistening that even a savage appreci- 

 ates their beauty. But no such sentiment stirs the aver- 

 age negro of the Southern States; at the season men- 

 tioned, he resorts to the localities where these trees grow 



in numbers, and, not sat- 

 isfied to patiently pluck the 

 foliage from the trees, he 

 deliberately hews the trees 

 down in scores. Through 

 this vicious practice mag- 

 nolias are now practically 

 extinct in vast areas. These 

 holiday festivities are re- 

 sponsible for similar ruth- 

 less extermination with re- 

 spect to several other kinds 

 of trees in the country 

 our beautiful holly among 

 the number; and the State 

 and Federal foresters 

 should combine to put a 

 stop to this species of 

 wholesale vandalism. 



The flowers of these 

 trees will not ship safely 

 for decorative purposes, as 

 they are readily bruised, 

 and spoiled through conse- 

 quent discoloration ; while 

 the various kinds of mag- 

 nolias stand among the 

 most attractive and strik- 

 ing of America's ornamen- 

 tal trees, and their employ- 

 ment as such should be en- 

 couraged in every possible 

 way. One species, much 

 used for such purposes in 

 Washington, is particular- 

 ly attractive for the rea- 

 son that its flowers appear in all their beauty the first 

 thing in the spring quite a long time before the leaves 

 are in any way in evidence beyond the big, shiny buds 

 on the twigs and branches. Some of these are exotic 

 species, of which we have quite a number; but the limi- 

 tations of space debar any description of these at pres- 

 ent. Later on the subject may be taken up. 



One of our indigenous magnolias is easily distinguished 



95 



