373 



DECIDUOUS TREES. 



Fig. 115. 



The Large-leaved or Michaux' Magnolia. M. macro-^ 

 phylla. — This species has the most superb 

 leaves of any tree we know of in the tem- 

 perate zone, being from twenty to thirty- 

 five inches in length, with a width equal to 

 about one-third their length. It is a native 

 of the mountainous regions of the Carolinas, 

 and was first discovered by the elder Mi- 

 chaux, in 1789, near Lincolntown, in North 

 Carolina. He remarks, " Extensive re- 

 searches made in quest of it, in the upper 

 part of the southern States, and east of the 

 Alleghanies, have been unsuccessful. In 

 Tennessee it is found sparingly at intervals 

 of forty or fifty miles. It appears to delight 

 in cool sheltered situations where the soil 

 is deep and fertile, where it is constantly attended by the M. 

 iripetela.''' 



This species has less tendehcy to sucker than the iripetela, and 

 becomes a broad oak-like tree, in form, from twenty-five to forty 

 feet high, and equal diameter. In Parsons' specimen grounds at 

 Flushing, L. I., there is a magnificent specimen with a trunk fifteen 

 inches in diameter, and a head thirty-five feet in height and forty 

 feet in diameter, and truly the most superb tree of its size we have 

 ever seen. Its branches almost meet the ground, and when the 

 wind plays with its great leaves their white under surfaces light the 

 tree like a mass of immense white blossoms. This is one of the 

 striking beauties of the tree, and one that is quite as effective on small 

 as large trees. Fig 115 shows the characteristic form of the tree in 

 from seven to ten years after planting, and also represents the pro- 

 portional size of the leaves and the blossom. The leaves are heart- 

 shaped at the base, and increase in width so that they are widest 

 two-thirds of their length towards the point. The flowers, which 

 appear in June and July, are of immense size, sonietimes eight to 

 ten inches in width, white, with purple spots near the centre, and 

 pleasantly fragrant Fruit shaped like a cucumber, bright rose- 

 color when ripe, and about four inches long. The bark is whitish 



