38 TIMBER TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



It occurs along the Appalachians from Pennsylvania to central 

 Alabama, and extends in the south Atlantic states nearly to the 

 coast, and westward to middle Kentucky, Tennessee and north- 

 western Mississippi, and central and southwestern Arkansas. It 

 reaches its best development among the Smoky mountains of Ten- 

 nessee and North Carolina. 



In North Carolina, where it attains a height of 25 to 35 feet, it 

 is found on rich, moist, deep soil throughout the State (fig 3, p. 

 37^, but is nowhere common. The production of seed is frequent 

 and abundant, and seedlings are found wherever a group of mature 

 trees occur. It is easily propagated by shoots from the stump. 



The large thin, oblong leaves are clustered at the ends of the 

 branchlets. The conspicuous white flowers, about 5 inches in diam- 

 eter, appear in May. The bright rose-colored fruit is egg-shaped, 

 3J to 4 inches long. The large purple winter-buds are covered 

 with a whitish bloom. 



The wood is light, soft, weak, close-grained ; brown in color ; the 

 heavier sapwood creamy-white. It has no commercial value. 



Mag-nolia fraseri, Walter. 



(mountain magnolia. WAHOO. INDIAN BITTERS.) 



A slender tree, with regular and wide-spreading or contorted 

 branches, and dark brown, smooth or minutely scaled bark. It 

 reaches a height of 40 feet and a diameter of 18 inches. 



It occurs from the mountains of southwestern Virginia to soutli- 

 el-n Alabama and western Florida, and westward through east 

 Tennessee and northern Mississippi to the valley of the Pearl 

 river. It grows in the valleys of mountain streams, and reaches its 

 best development on the tributaries of ti)e Savannah river, and on 

 the slopes of the Black and Big Smoky mountains. Locally abun- 

 dant, it is the least widely distributed of the American magnolias. 



In this State it occurs in all the counties west of the Blue Ridge 

 and in the western parts of those immediately east of it. It is 

 most common in Ashe, Mitchell, Yancey, Swain, Macon, Transyl- 

 vania, and Burke counties. (Fig. 2, p. 34.) 



