16 MAGNOLIACE^E. (MAGNOLIA FAMILY.) 



pel at maturity opening on the back, from which the 1 or 2 berry-like seeds hang 

 by an extensile thread composed of unrolled spiral vessels. Inner seed-coat 

 bony. Buds conical, the coverings formed of the successive pairs of stipules, 

 each pair enveloping the leaf next above, which is folded lengthwise, and ap- 

 plied straight against the side of the next stipular sheath, and so on. (Named 

 after Magnol, Professor of Botany at Montpellier in the 17th century.) 

 * Leaves all scattered along the branches : buds silky. 



1. !?! glttiica, L. (SMALL or LAUREL MAGNOLIA. SWEET BAY.) 

 Leaves oblong or oval, obtuse, white beneath ; petals white, rounded-obovate ; cone 

 of fruit small, oblong. Swamps, from near Cape Ann and New York south- 

 ward, near the coast ; in Pennsylvania as far west as Cumberland Co. June- 

 Aug. Shrub 4 - 20 high, Avith thickish leaves, Avhich farther south are ever 

 green, and sometimes oblong-lanceolate. Flower very fragrant, 2' - 3' broad. 



2. M. acuminata, L. (CUCUMBER-TREE.) Leaves oblong, pointed, 

 green and a little pubescent beneath ; petals glaucous-green tinged with yellow, 

 oblong; cone of fruit small, cylindrical. Rich woods, W. New York, Penn., 

 Ohio, and southward. May, June. Tree 60 - 90 feet high. Leaves thin, 5' - 

 10' long. Flower 3' broad. Fruit 2' -3' long, when young slightly resembling 

 a small cucumber, whence the common name. 



3. M. macropbylla, Michx. ( GREAT-LEA YED MAGNOLIA.) Leaves 

 obovate-oblong , cordate at the narrowed base, pubescent and white beneath ; petals 

 white, with a purple spot inside at the base, ovate ; cone of fruit ovoid. Rock- 

 castle and Kentucky Rivers, S. E. Kentucky. Occasionally planted farther 

 north. May, June. Tree 20 -40 high. Leaves 2|-3 long. Flower 

 8' -10' broad when outspread. 



* * Leaves crowded on the summit of the flowering branches in an umbrella-like 

 circle : buds glabrous. 



4. Ifl. Umbrella, Lam. (UMBRELLA-TREE.) Leaves obovate-lanceolatc, 

 pointed at both ends, soon glabrous, petals obovate-oblong. (M. tripetala, L.) 

 Mountains of Penn. (and W. New York?) to Virginia and Kentucky along 

 the Alleghanies. May. A small tree. Leaves 1- 2 long. Flowers white, 

 7' -8' broad. Fruit rose-color, 4' -5' long, ovoid-oblong. 



5. M. Fraseri, Walt. (EAR-LEAVED UMBRELLA-TREE.) Leaves ob- 

 loncj-obovate or spatulate, auriculate at the base, glabrous ; petals obovate-spatulate, 

 with narrow claws. (M. auricula ta, Lam.) Virginia and Kentucky along the 

 Alleghanies, and southward. April, May. Tree,30-50 high. Leaves 8'- 

 12' long. Flower (white) and fruit smaller than in the preceding. 



M. CORDATA, Michx., the YELLOW CUCUMBER-TREE, of Georgia, and 

 M. GRANDiFLdRA, L., the GREAT LAUREL MAGNOLIA, of the Southern 

 States (a noble tree, remarkable for its deliciously fragrant flowers, and thick 

 evergreen leaves, which are shining and deep green above and rusty-cojored be- 

 neath), are the only remaining North American species. The former is hardy 

 as far north as Cambridge. One tree of the latter bears the winter and blos- 

 soms near Philadelphia. The Umbrella-tree attains only a s nail fize in New 

 England, where M. macrophylla is precarious. 



