CUCUMBER TREE. 



cies of the magnolia, natives of the United 

 States, which go under this name, from the. re- 

 semblance of their cones to the green fruit of 

 the cucumber. One of these, the Magnolia 

 acuminata, is a tree of considerable size, some- 

 times exceeding eighty feet in height and three 

 or four feet in diameter. The trunk is per- 

 fectly straight, of a uniform size, and often 

 destitute of branches for two-thirds of its 

 length. The tree is one of the most splendid 

 ornaments of the American forests. The leaves 

 are six or seven inches long and three or four 

 broad, upon old trees, and often twice the 

 size upon saplings. Their form is oval, entire, 

 and very sharp pointed, from which last cha- 

 racteristic the tree derives its specific name of 

 (inuiiinata. They fall off in autumn. The 

 flowers are five or six inches in diameter, 

 bluish, and sometimes white with a tint of 

 yellow. They have a feeble odour, and being 

 large and numerous, give a fine effect in the 

 midst of the elegant foliage. It makes a superb 

 ornamental tree in lawns, &c. 



The cones or fruit are about three inches 

 long, and one inch in diameter, nearly cylin- 

 drical in shape, and often a little longer at the 

 extremity than at the base. When green, they 

 very much resemble a young cucumber. They 

 have cells, each of which contains one rose- 

 coloured seed, which, before it escapes, remains 

 suspended on the outside by a filament, like 

 those of the great and small magnolias. Most 

 of the inhabitants of the country bordering on 

 the Alleghanies gather the cones about mid- 

 summer, when half ripe, and steep them in 

 whisky; a glass or two of this liquor, which 

 is extremely bitter, they habitually take in the 

 morning, under the alleged excuse of preserv- 

 ing them against autumnal fevers. 



The most northern point at which Michaux 

 observed the cucumber tree, was on the Nia- 

 gara river, in the latitude of 43. It abounds 

 along the whole mountainous tract of the Alle- 

 ghanies, to their termination in Georgia, a 

 distance of 900 miles. It is, however, rarely 

 met with at a greater distance than 40 or 50 

 miles from the mountains, either eastward or 

 westward. Michaux concludes that it is a 

 stranger to all the Atlantic parts of the United 

 States, to the distance of 100, 150, and 200 

 miles from the sea, the nature of the soil and 

 extreme heat of the climate being utterly un- 

 congenial to its growth. It may, however, be 

 found in a highly flourishing condition at the 

 seats of the Messieurs Dupont, on the banks 

 of the Brandywine, and would doubtless grow 

 anywhere in the vicinity of Philadelphia, es- 

 pecially on the banks of the Schuylkill, and 

 perhaps still further north. 

 Another species of magnolia, which, in its 

 general appearance and in the form of its 

 fruit, very nearly resembles the preceding, has 

 been confounded with it by the inhabitants of 

 the regions in which it grows. Michaux calls 

 it the heart-leaved cucumber tree (Magnolia 

 cordata). He found it on the banks of the Sa- 

 vannah river in Upper Georgia, and also on 

 th,e streams in the back parts of South Caro- 

 lina, approaching within twelve miles of Au- 

 gusta. It grows to the height of forty or fifty j 

 feet, with a diameter of twelve or fifteen inches. 

 372 



CUDWEED. 



The bark is rough and deeply furrowed like 

 that of the sweet gum and young white oak. 



The flowers, which appear in April, are 

 yellow, and nearly four inches in diameter. 

 The succeeding cones are about three inches 

 long and one inch thick, and with the seeds, 

 resemble those of other magnolias. The beauty 

 of its yellow flowers form an agreeable con- 

 trast with its luxuriant foliage, and, together 

 with its capacity to resist intense cold, recom- 

 mend it highly as an ornamental tree in north- 

 erly situations. 



The long-leaved cucumber tree, (Magnolia auri- 

 culata) is also remarkable for the beauty of its 

 foliage and for the size of its flowers, which 

 possess an agreeable odour. Michaux states 

 that it appears form his observations to be 

 confined to that tract of the Alleghany Moun- 

 tains which traverse the Southern States, at 

 the distance of nearly 300 miles from the sea. 

 Besides the popular name already given, it is 

 also called Indian physic. 



The growth of this is far below that of the 

 first named tree, nor does it even attain the 

 size of the heart-leaved species. Its limbs are 

 widely spread and sparingly branched, which, 

 when the tree is stripped of its leaves, give it 

 a peculiar effect. The leaves are eight or nine 

 inches long, and much larger on the youngest 

 trees. They are broader at the top than to- 

 wards the bottom, or base, which is divided into 

 rounded lobes, resembling the ears of some 

 animals, whence the tree derives its specific 

 name of auriculata. The flowers are three or 

 four inches in diameter, of a fine, white colour, 

 of an agreeable odour, and situated at the 

 extremity of the young shoots, which are of a 

 purplish-red, dotted with white. The cones 

 are oval, three or four inches long, and, like 

 those of the umbrella tree, another species of 

 magnolia, of a beautiful rose colour when ripe. 

 Each cell contains one or two red seeds. The 

 bark has an agreeable aromatic odour, and is 

 infused in spirits as a popular remedy in rheu- 

 matic affections. Inasmuch as the virtues as- 

 cribed to this spirituous preparation are very 

 doubtful, and the practice of using it fraught 

 with great danger, not only from misapplica- 

 tion at improper stages of disease, but from its 

 tendency to form a vicious taste for ardent 

 drinks, it had best be dispensed with, and other 

 better and less mischievous remedies resorted 

 to. The tree flourishes in Europe, where it is 

 a popular ornamental tree. (Michaux.) 



CUD. In cattle, the food in the first sto- 

 mach, which is to be chewed over again and 

 passed into the second to be digested. See 

 CHEWIWG THE Cun. 



CUDWEED, or EVERLASTING. A shrub- 

 by or herbaceous plant belonging to a genus 

 (Gnaphalium) containing one hundred and 

 twenty species, most of which are indigenous 

 to the Cape of Good Hope. There are a few 

 species in Europe, India, and in South as well as 

 North America. The generic name is derived 

 from a Greek word signifying soft down, or 

 wool, with which the plants are clothed. The 

 species known in the Middle States are the 

 Purple Gnaphalium, a biennial growing in dry, 

 open woodlands, &c., to the height of six, 

 twelve, or fifteen inches, producing dingy pur- 



