MAGNOLIA. 



2 I 



Sargent, " Si/va of North America" tt. 7, 8. M. Mi- 

 chauxi, Hort. 



M.parviflora. — This is one of the most hand- 

 some of hardy ornamental shrubs, and will doubt- 

 less become widely cultivated and duly appreciated 

 by all lovers of gardening. It has, of late years, 

 been largely imported into this country, and flowers 

 and also ripens fruit freely. It differs from the other 

 species known in gardens by its long flower stalks. 

 In the Bamboo Garden at Kew a large bush is 

 annually covered with the handsome blossoms. M. 

 parviflora is said to be a native of the Alps of Nip- 

 pon. The nearest relation to the species now under 

 consideration is the United States M.glauca. — Sieb. 

 and Zucc, Fam. Nat., 351; Miquel, "Prolusio," 146; 

 Maximowicz, " Melanges Biologiques" tome viii., p. 

 509; "Botanical Magazine" t. 741 1. 



M. pumila. — This is a Chinese species, which 

 was introduced to this country nearly a century 

 ago. It has elliptic, wavy, rather leathery, glaucous 

 leaves and very fragrant, nodding, egg-shaped white 

 flowers. Formerly this was treated as a stove plant, 

 but it only requires shelter from frost, and will grow 

 well and flower freely in a cool conservatory. — 

 Andrews, "Botanical Repository," 226 ; " Ventenat 

 Jardin de la Malmaison," p. 37, tab. 37 ; " Botanical 

 Magazine," tab. 977. Talauma pumila, Lindley in 

 Penny Ency clop., with figure. 



M. pyramidata. — This species has been con- 

 fused by recent botanists with M. Fraseri, from 

 which it differs abundantly in habit, size of flowers, 

 &c. It is a tree of more upright pyramidal growth, 

 with much smaller leaves than those of M. Fraseri, 

 and thinner in texture, green on both surfaces, and 

 with divaricate lobes. In M. Fraseri, on the other 

 hand, the leaves are green above, glaucous beneath, 

 with converging lobes. The flowers, too, in this 

 last-named species are much larger, and the anthers, 

 too, are different. The geographical distribution 

 of the two is entirely different — true M. Fraseri 

 is an inland mountain plant, whilst M. pyramidata 

 affects the lowlands along the coast. I have seen the 

 last-named species many years ago in the Trianon 

 garden at Versailles, and dried flowering specimens 

 exist grown in the famous Bollwyller nursery in 

 Alsace more than half a century ago. Bar tram, in 

 his " Travels through North and South Carolina, 

 Georgia, East and West Florida," gives the fol- 

 lowing account of M. pyramidata : " I discovered 

 in the maritime parts of Georgia, particularly on 

 the banks of the Alatamaha, another new species 

 of Magnolia, whose leaves were nearly of the figure 

 of this tree (M. Fraseri), but they were much less 

 in size, not more than 6 or 7 inches in length, and 

 the strobile very small, oblong, sharp-pointed, and 

 of a deep crimson colour ; but I never saw the 

 flower. These trees grow straight and erect, 30 



feet or more in height, and of a sharp conical form, 

 much resembling the Cucumber Tree in figure." — 

 Pursh, " Flora America Septentrionalis," vol. \\.,p. 382; 

 Bartram, " Travels," p. 340 ; " Botanical Register," 

 t. 407; Loddiges "Botanical Cabinet" t. 1092; 

 Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit., i., 227,/. 1 1. 



M. Thompsoniana. — This is a remarkable 

 form of vigorous habit, with leaves and flowers two 

 or three times the size of the type. It originated as 

 a seedling in the Mile End Nursery of Mr. Thomp- 

 son. Loudon thinks that the M. glauca, var. longi- 

 folia (Aiton, " Hortus Kewensis," 1 ed., ii., 251), is 

 a wild form identical with the plant of garden origin 

 here mentioned. 



Other varieties, the names of which are met with 

 in books, but very rarely in gardens, are arborea, 

 sempervirens, latifolia, Gordoniana, and Burchelliana. 

 The last two were described by Sabine in the 

 " Transactions of the Horticultural Society " as 

 Gordon's Double Swamp Magnolia and Burchell's 

 Double Swamp Magnolia respectively, these names 

 being altered by Koch in his " Dendrologie " to 

 M. Gordoniana and M. Buchananiana. The var. 

 pumila of Lavallee's " Arboretum Segrezianum " 

 does not belong here at all, but is a true species from 

 a different country, viz., China. M. Thompsoniana 

 is now regarded by Professor Sargent and other 

 authorities as a hybrid between M. glauca and M. 

 tripetala. See Garden and Forest, 1888, 269, fig. 43. 

 — " Botanical Magazine," tab. 2164 ; Reichenbach, 

 "Flora Exotica," 342. 



The Umbrella Tree (M. tripetala). — The 

 leaves of this species are obovate-lanceolate, pointed 

 at both ends, soon becoming glabrous; they mea- 

 sure from 1 foot to 3 feet in length, and the slightly- 

 scented white flowers are from 5 to 8 inches across. 

 In a wild state the Umbrella Tree rarely exceeds 

 40 feet in height, with a straight or often inclining 

 trunk rarely more than 18 inches in diameter, gene- 

 rally much smaller,and occurs in York and Lancaster 

 counties, Pennsylvania, to Virginia and Kentucky 

 along the Alleghanies. To Philip Miller is due the 

 credit of introducing this fine tree to English gar- 

 dens. A year or two later it was in dependently in- 

 troduced by Collinson, the following memorandum 

 written by him being quoted from "Hortus Collin- 

 sonianus": — "In the year 1753 I had sent me from 

 South Carolina a species of Magnolia, called the 

 Umbrella. I had it planted in Mr. J. Gordon's 

 garden for him to increase it ; it flourished finely 

 and flowered; May 24, 1760, opened its two first 

 blossoms, and has 24 more to flower ; this is the 

 first tree that has flowered in England." — Linn. Sp., 

 Plant., 2 ed., 756 ; Michaux, " Flora Boreali- Ameri- 

 cana," 1, 327 ; Michx. fil., " Arbres Fores tiers de 

 l Amerique Septentrionale," 3, c)0,tab. 1 5 ; Loudon, Arb. 

 et Frut. Brit., 1, 269, tab. 5; Koch, "Dendrologie," 



