Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/28

 MAGNOLIA planted wherever it will endure the climate, n,,. uini.n-iia tree i.i/. Mifovlfe), also a fcrge- leaved species, has York and Lancaster coun- ties, Pa., for its northern limit, and is found in most of the southern states ; it rarely ex- ceeds 30 ft. in height ; the leaves are pointed i ends and from 1 to 8 ft. long; as they are crowded in a circle at the ends of the irreg- tree presents the appearance expressed in it- .-..mmon as well as its specific name ; the flowers are 6 to 8 in. broad, pure white, ami lave a sweet, heavy odor, which is disagreeable to most persons ; its large, rose- colored cones are 4 to 6 in. long and showy. a rather straggling tree, it can hardly be ron-id. ! '! as very ornamental, although it is an interesting species ; it is hardy near Bos- ton ; it was formerly called M. tripetala. The ear-leaved umbrella tree (M. Fraseri, and for- merly M. auriculabi) occurs in Virginia, Ken- tucky, and southward along the mountains ; it grows 40 to 50 ft. high, and though it has some resemblance to the preceding, it is handsomer in all respects ; its oblong-obovate or spatulate leaves are auricled or have an ear-lobe-like appendage on each side at the base; tbey are seldom over a foot long, and are crowded at the ends of the branches in an umbrella-like and pleasantly fragrant. The only other de- ciiluous native species is the yellow cucumber 'A cordata), a native of North Carolina and Georgia ; it grows 40 or 50 ft. high, and has oval or roundish leaves, sometimes slight- ly heart-shaped at base, about 6 in. long; the flowers are 4 to 5 in. wide and of a lemon-yel- low color, which contrasts finely with the rich green of the foliage ; though a peculiarly south- ern -pecies, this has proved hardy in New England. On r only perfectly evergreen spe- cies is the great-flowered magnolia ( J/". grandi- jforti), also called the great laurel magnolia, which grows from North Carolina to Florida and westward to Louisiana. Probably no other American tree has had so ranch written in its as this and it is deserving of all the encomiums tli.tt have been bestowed upon it; for whether we regard it as a forest tree or as a garden ornament, it is unsurpassed for n< 'Mi-ness and beauty. It reaches its greatest <>n in lijrht fertile soils, and those who nave only seen the few poor starved specimens that linger along on its northern limits can i "f the beauty of well developed "vs to the height of 60 to ami when nut crowded by other trees M a form a* regularly pyramidal as if it had been shaped by art ; its oblong or obovate leaves are very thick and leathery, of thedark- al.ove and ni-ty-colored be- 'V'-n. r, to 1-J in. Im.-; the' flowers, 6 to '.' in. across, are of the purest whin- and deli- vant ; they are produced during April and May. arid after they are <_'..ne the ihow with tin,- affect airainst the dark-green foliar-. The flowers turn brown in fading, and the slightest injury to the petals shows itself as a brown spot ; if the petals of this or any others of the white-flowered mag- nolias be written upon with a sharp point, the Great-flowered Magnolia (M. grandiflora). writing will soon become legible in distinct, dark-brown characters. In some situations in England this tree endures without protection, but generally it needs the shelter of a wood or buildings ; in this country Philadelphia seems to be its northern limit, and there its flowering is of rare occurrence ; in more northern locali- ties it must be regarded as a greenhouse plant ; in those states where it will not only live but thrive, it is deservedly popular, whether planted as single specimens or to line an avenue. A number of well marked varieties have been raised from seeds, differing from the type in form of the leaves, size of the flowers, and other particu- lars; one of these raised in Georgia is an almost continu- ous bloomer. Sev- eral of the exotic species are common in cultivation, while others, at the north at least, are only greenhouse plants; some botanists have placed these in sep- arate genera, but they are proper magnolias. The best known of these is si<_Miifyinir lily tree, which is often met with as a shrul) flowering when only 3 or 4 ft. high, but which grows to a handsome tree of 30 to 50 ft. ; the flowers, which appear in early
 * the flower is about 6 in. across, white