78 ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY CIRCULAR 51 



Magnolias grow most luxuriantly in loose, rich, moist, acid 

 soil. The large, elliptical to oblong, 2I2- to 8-inch-long, alternate 

 leaves of saucer magnolia (Fig. 73 inset) are dark green and 

 smooth above and lighter green and smooth or hairy below. The 

 2- to 3-inch-wide, white, waterlily-like, fragrant flowers of sweet 

 bay and the 4- to 6-inch-wide, purplish or rose-colored flowers of 

 saucer magnolia are conspicuous, while the 2- to 3-inch-long, 

 bellshaped, greenish-yellow flowers of cucumber tree are hidden 

 by the foliage. The conspicuous, conelike, 2V2- to 3-inch-long, 

 red fruits contain bright red seeds. However, the immature fruits 

 are green and resemble a cucumber, hence the name cucumber 

 tree. The trunk bark of cucumber tree is dark brown, furrowed, 

 and scaly, while the trunk bark of sweet bay and saucer mag- 

 nolia is grayish-brown and smooth. 



The magnolias are relatively free of diseases and insect 

 pests. However, an occasional tree is affected by Verticillium 

 wilt or infested with scale insects. The yellowish-brown, close- 

 grained wood is not hard or strong and is not used extensively 

 in industry. 



Maple 



The five species of maple native to Illinois are sugar or hard 

 maple {Acer saccharum) (Fig. 74), black maple {A. yiigrum), 

 silver or soft maple (A. saccharinum) (Fig. 75), red or scarlet 

 maple (A. rubrum), and boxelder or ash-leaved maple (A. ne- 

 gundo) . All but boxelder reach heights of 80-90 feet or more and 

 a branch spread of 50-80 feet. Boxelder usually does not grow 

 over 50 feet tall with a branch spread of 30-50 feet. These spe- 

 cies, with several of their varieties, and several European and 

 Asiatic species, are used extensively in ornamental plantings. 



The leaves, except on boxelder, are simple, three- to five- 

 lobed, opposite, and borne on long slender stalks which are 2-4 

 inches long in red maple and 4-5 inches long in silver maple. The 

 leaves of boxelder are compound with three to five irregularly 

 toothed leaflets with pointed tips. The lobes of silver maple leaves 

 (Fig. 75 inset) are deep with long points, and those of the other 

 three maples are shaflow. Leaves of sugar maple (Fig. 74 inset) 

 and black maple are dark green above and paler beneath, while 

 the leaves of red and silver maple are light green above and 

 whitish to silvery-white beneath. 



Fall color in maples varies from yellow to scarlet. The flow- 

 ers are produced in clusters from lateral or terminal flower buds. 

 They may be perfect or the male and female flowers may be pro- 



