10 
CUCUMBER TREE. 
ing, to whom its multiplication, for the embellishment of their country resi- 
dences, cannot be too warmly recommended. 
PLATE LII. 
A branch with leaves and a flower of the natural size. Fig. 1 , A cone with 
seeds of the natural size. 
[Since Michaux wrote, this tree has been found in Essex, Massachusetts. 
Though growing naturally in wet ground, it may easily be made to thrive 
in dry, but will not then remain long in flower ; a good plan is to plant it 
near a gutter, or in a spot shaded and sheltered by larger trees, but not 
overtopped by them.] 
CUCUMBER TREE, 
Magnolia acuminata. M. foliis ovalibus , acuminatis, subtus pubescentihUs : 
foribus Jlavo-ccerulescentibus. 
In all parts of the United Stotes where this tree is found, it is known 
only by the name of Cucumber Tree. It is a beautiful vegetable, equal 
in height and in diameter to the Large Flowered Magnolia. Among the 
trees of this genus hitherto discovered in North America, these two spe- 
cies alone exhibit very large dimensions. The most northern point at 
which I have myself observed the Cucumber Tree, is on the Niagara river, 
near the celebrated cataract of that name, in the latitude of 43° ; and I 
believe it does not exist far beyond this limit. It abounds along the whole 
mountainous tract of the Alleghanies, to their termination in Georgia, over 
a distance of 900 miles. It is also common on the Cumberland Mountains, 
which divide the State of Tennessee. The situations peculiarly adapted 
to its growth are, the declivities of mountains, narrow valleys, and the 
banks of torrents, where the air is constantly moist, and where the soil is 
deep and fertile. At the distance of 40 or 50 miles from these mountains, 
either eastward or westward, the Cucumber Tree is met with only acciden- 
tally upon the steep banks of rivers, where the atmosphere is constantly 
refreshed by the evaporation from their surface. 
We may conclude, then, that this tree is a stranger to all the regions 
