III. M AG^i ohiyi cejf:: magno l/^. 



97 



2 3. Magxo^l/>4 tripe'tala L. The tlirce-petaled Magnolia. 



Identijication. Lin. Sp , 2. p. 756. ; Michx., 3. p. 90. 



Synonynies. M. umbrella I.am., Noiiv. Duh., Dec. Prod., Don's Mill., Tor. Sf Gray ; M. frondftsa 

 Salisb. ; the Umbrella Tree ; Umbrella Magnolia ; Elkwood ; Magnolie Parasol, and Arbre 

 Parasol Fr. ; dreyblattriger Bieberbaum, dreiblattrige Magnolie, Ger. 



Derivatio7i. This species is called the Umbrella Tree, according to Michaux, because its leaves, 

 which are thin, oval, entire, and acuminate at both extremities, 18 in. or 20 in. long, and Tin. or 

 8 in. broad, are often disposed in raj-s at the extremity of vigorous shoots; and these display a 

 surface of 2Jft. in diameter, in the form of an umbrella. The tree is called Elkwood in the moun- 

 tains of Virginia, probably from the resemblance which the points of the shoots bear to the horns 

 of the elk. The French names merely signify umbrella tree, and the German ones the three- 

 petaled beaver tree, or magnolia. 



Engravings. Michx. Arb., 3. t. 6. ; Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 418. ; the plate of this species in Arb. Brit. 

 1st edit. vol. V. ; and onrjig. 37. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Deciduous. Leaves lanceolate, spreading, adult ones smooth, 

 younger ones pubescent underneath. Petals 9 12, exterior ones pendent. 

 (Don's Mi!!., i. p. 83.) A deciduous tree of the middle size. Pennsyl- 

 vania to Georgia, in moist soil. Height 30 ft. to 40 ft. in America ; 15 ft. 

 to 30 ft. in England. Introduced in 1752. Flowers white, 7 in. to 8 in. 

 in diameter, with an unpleasant odour ; May to July. Strobiles rose- 

 coloured, 4 in. to 5 in. long ; ripe in October. Decaying leaves dark brown 

 or black. Naked young wood of a fine mahogany brown. 



MagTioItn trip^tala. 



This tree, both in America and Europe, is remarkable for the largeness 

 of its leaves and its flowers. The wood is spongy, brittle, with a large pith, 

 soft, porous, and of very little use. The bark upon the trunk is grey, 

 smooth, and polished ; and, if cut while green, it exhales a disagi'eeable 

 odour. In Britain the tree sends up various shoots from the root, to replace 

 the stems, which are seldom of long duration ; so that a plant that has stood 

 thirty or forty years in one spot has had its stems several times renewed during 

 that period. The leaves are 18 or 20 inches long, and 7 or 8 inches broad. 

 The flowers are 7 or 8 inches in diameter, with large white flaccid petals; they are 

 borne on the extremities of the last year's slioots, have a languid luxurious 

 appearance, and a sweet but heavy odour. The fruit, which is conical, is 5 or 



