372 DECIDUOUS TREES. 
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. 
tripetela.'' 
This species has less tendency *to sucker than the tripetela , and 
becomes a broad oak-like tree, in form, from twenty-five to foity 
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, sometimes 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 
Fig. 115. 
