150 II. MAGNOLIACE^E. LIRIODENDRON. 



Cal. Sepals 36, deciduous, colored like the petals. 

 Cor. Petals 612, hypogynous, in several rows, imbricate in aestivation. 

 Sta. indefinite, hypogynous, distinct, with short filaments, and adnate anthers. 

 Ova. several, in many rows upon an elongated torus. 

 Fr. follicular or baccate, 1 2-seeded. 



Sds. attached to the inner suture of the carpels, from which (in Magnolia) they are suspended by along, 

 delicate funiculus. 



An order consisting of 11 genera and 65 species, including some of the most splendid and majestic forest 

 trees. The southern and western states seem to be the region of the most of them. China, Japan, and 

 the Indies contain a few, 



Properties. The bark of the species mentioned below contains an intensely bitter principle, which is 

 tonic and stimulating, and the corollas are aromatic beyond almost all other flowers. 



Genera. 



Carpels dehiscent by the dorsal suture, seeds pendulous Magnolia. 1 



Carpels indehiscent, seeds enclosed, not pendulous Liriodendron. 2 



1. MAGNOLIA. 



In honor of Pierre Magnol, a French botanist, author of ' Botanicum Montpeliense,' &c. 



Sepals 5, often or petaloid ; petals 6 12^ caducous 5 carpels 

 2-valved, 1 2-seeded, imbricated into a cone ; seeds baccate, sub- 

 cordate, and suspended, when mature, by a long funiculus. A superb 

 genus, consisting mostly of large trees with luxuriant foliage, and large, 

 fragrant flowers. 



1. M. GLAUCA. White Bay. 



Lvs. oval, glaucous beneath ; pet. obovate, tapering to the base. This spe- 

 cies is native in N. Eng., particularly at Gloucester, Mass., thence to La. and 

 Mo. The tree is about 25f in height, remarkable only for the beauty of its 

 foliage and flowers. The leaves are smooth, entire, of a regular, elliptical 

 form, remarkably pale beneath. Flowers terminal, white, solitary, of 3 sepals 

 and several concave petals, appearing in July. 



2. M. ACUMINATA. Cucumber Tree. 



Lvs. oval, acuminate, pubescent beneath ; pet. obovate, obtusish. Grows 

 near the Falls of Niagara, but is more abundant in the Southern States. It is 

 a noble forest tree. Trunk perfectly straight, 4 5f diam., 60 80f high, 

 bearing an ample and regular summit. Leaves very acuminate. Flowers 

 5 6' diam., bluish, sometimes yellowish-white, numerous, and finely con- 

 trasted with the rich dark foliage. Cones of fruit about 3' long, cylindric, 

 bearing some resemblance to a small cucumber. May. 



3. M. UMBRELLA. Lam. (M. Tripetala. Linn.") Umbrella Tree. 

 Lvs. deciduous, cuneate-lanceolate, silky when young ; sep. 3, reflexed ; 



pet. 9, narrow-lanceolate, acute. A small tree, 20 30f high ; common in the 

 Middle and Southern States, extending north to southern N. Y. Branches irre- 

 gular. Leaves 16 20' by 6- 8', often appearing whorled at the ends of the 

 branches in the form of an umbrella. Flowers terminal, white, 7 8' diam. 

 Fruit conical, 4 5' long, of a fine rose-color when ripe. The wood is soft 

 and porous, and of little use in the arts. May, June. 



4. M. GRANDIFLORA, 



Native of the Southern States, is the noblest species of the genus. Its 

 great neight (80 ), its shining, dark-green leaves, its fragrant, white flowers a 

 foot in diameter, form a combination of rare magnificence.! 



2. LIRIODENDRON. 

 Gr. Xctptov, a lily ; Sev&pov, a tree. 



Sepals 3, caducous ; petals 6 ; carpels imbricated in a cone, 1 2- 

 seeded ; seeds attenuated at apex into a scale. Trees, with large and 

 fragrant.Jlowers. 



L. TULIPIFERA. Tulip Tree. White Wood. Poplar. 



A fine tree, one of the most remarkable of the American forests. Can. to 

 La., especially abundant in the Western States. It is ordinarily about 80f 

 high, with a diam. of 2 or 3f, but along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers it 

 grows much larger. Near Bloomington, la., I measured a tree of this species 

 which had been recently felled. Its circumference, 4 feet from the ground, 



