FRANKLINIA 



Franklinia alatamaha Marshall 



Franklinia, or Franklin tree, a member of the Tea Family, has 

 perhaps the most romantic history of any plant included in "North 

 American Wild Flowers." It was first seen by John Bartram in 1765 

 in the vicinity of Fort Barrington, Georgia, and was named by his 

 friend, Humphrey Marshall, in honor of Benjamin Franklin. His son, 

 William Bartram, also visited the locality in 179 1, and described the 

 plant in his "Travels through North and South Carolina." He states 

 that he never saw it at any other place but near the Fort, where "there 

 are two or three acres of ground where it grows plentifully." Thor- 

 ough search has since been made by botanists, including Dr. C. S. 

 Sargent, H. W Ravenel, and Dr. E. T. Wherry, but no wild plants 

 can be found. All those in existence in American gardens apparently 

 originated with the plant or plants obtained by William Bartram and 

 grown at Philadelphia in the place long known as Bartram's Garden, 

 now a public park. 



Franklinia has been shown by Dr. Frederick V. Coville to belong 

 to the great number of plants that flourish only in acid soils. Cuttings 

 have been rooted successfully and distributed to nurserymen and to 

 private gardens. At Whitesbog, in New Jersey, a number of plants 

 are growing vigorously under the care of Miss Elizabeth C. White. 

 The specimen sketched was obtained from one of these plants when 

 they were in blossom in September, 192.6. The delicious odor of the 

 flowers attracts many bees, but few viable seeds have resulted. The 

 Franklinia blooms in autumn when most other trees or shrubs are 

 past flowering. Its leaves turn a beautiful crimson before falling from 

 the branches. 



PLATE 2.44 



