704 



Franklinia 



I. FRANKLINIA 



GENUS FRANKLINIA MARSHALL 



Species Franklinia altamaha Marshall 



Gordonia altamaha Sargent. Gordonia piibescens L'Heritier 



DECIDUOUS small tree or shrub of very local occurrence, discovered 

 by the Bartrams in 1765 near Ft. Barrington, along the Altamaha 

 River in Georgia, and later cultivated in their celebrated garden at 

 Philadelphia, and seen again at the original locality by Moses Mar- 

 shall, 25 years later. It is not known to have been found wild since, and at the 

 present time is only known from cultivated specimens in gardens and parks. Its 

 maximum known height is 7 meters, with a trunk diameter of 3 dm. It is some- 

 times called the Franklin tree. 



The branches are stout, slightly angular. The bark of young stems and 



branches is thin, smooth, gray, or 

 reddish brown to dark brown. The 

 twigs are rather slender, round and 

 hairy. The leaves are membranous, 

 oblanceolate or oblong-obovate, 6 to 

 15 cm. long, blunt or sharp-pointed, 

 narrowed at the base, sharply saw- 

 toothed above the middle, or nearly 

 to the base, deep green and shining, 

 with impressed and sHghtly hairy 

 midrib above, pale and thickly hairy, 

 with prominent midrib beneath; they 

 turn scarlet before falHng; the leaf- 

 stalk is hairy, grooved, and short. 

 The fragrant flowers appear in July 

 Fig. 649. Franklinia. ^^^ continue until stopped by frost; 



they are soHtary in the axils of the upper leaves, on stalks less than i cm. long; 

 the 5 sepals are very unequal, concave, orbicular, 12 to 14 mm. long, hairy-mar- 

 gined, and white hairy; the corolla is 7 to 9 cm. across; the 5 petals are nearly 

 distinct, white, membranous, concave, obovate, 4 to 5 cm. long, somewhat crisped 

 and rounded, silky; stamens numerous, their filaments elongated, distinct; anthers 

 yellow, versatile; ovary 5-cellcd, ridged, hairy, the slender style about as long as 

 the stamens; the stigma is disk-Hke. The fruit is a blunt, 5-valvcd, woody cap- 

 sule, subglobose, 1.5 to 2 cm. in diameter, spHtting upward from the bottom; the 

 seeds, 6 to 8, or fewer in each cell, are 12 to 14 mm. long, angled, woody-coated; 

 endosperm none. 



The genus, consisting of but one kno\\'n species, is named in honor of the 

 illustrious American philosopher and statesman, Benjamin Franklin. 



