People who desire to plant this magnolia do well to shelter it from wind and cold. At best it is but half hardy in the North. It is a curiosity. Prominent situations are better filled by species of tried hardiness, whose beauty is admitted to be a joy at any season.
Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata, Linn.)—Pyramidal tree of spreading habit, 6o to loo feet high, with trunk 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Bark furrowed, thick, coated with brown scales. Wood weak, light, yellowish brown, close grained. Buds silky, pointed, terminal ones longer, larger. Leaves longer than wide, entire, heart-shaped base, acute apex, 6 to to inches long, thin, yellow green, sparsely hairy below; yellow in autumn; petioles t to 2 inches long. Flowers inconspicuous because yellowish green, bell shaped, terminal, erect, sepals 3, short, reflexed; petals 6 with long, tapering bases; stamens numerous, pistils numerous on central receptacle. Fruit compound, of many coalesced follicles, distorted by abortion of many; seed scarlet, berry-like, hangs out of 2-valved follicle on elastic thread when ripe. Preferred habitat, rocky uplands near streams; low mountain ranges. Distribution, western New York and southern Ontario to Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas; mountain slopes of Pennsylvania south to Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. Uses: Ornamental tree planted in Europe and America to a limited extent. Wood is used for flooring and other general purposes. Good stock upon which to graft less hardy magnolias.
The cucumber tree is the hardiest species of native magnolias. Its great leaves betray its sub-tropical affiliations. No tree but the catalpa can match it in the North, and this does not venture by itself farther than the latitude of southern Indiana. Against the foliage mass of oaks and elms and maples the great clean leaves of the cucumber tree form a striking contrast. They are silky at first, but when mature keep only a fringe of hairs on the veins beneath. In autumn the tree turns yellow before the leaves drop. The elevated leaf scars almost encircle the silky winter buds.
Cucumber trees make less show in the period of blossoming than other magnolias. The yellowish-green tulip-like flowers, though large, are scarcely distinguishable at a little distance from the new leaves by which they are surrounded. They are neither beautiful nor pleasantly fragrant. The elongated fruits look like pale green cucumbers at first, but are soon distorted in form by the failure of many of the carpels to set seed. The fleshy green
cone flushes pink, and later turns red as autumn approaches. In September each mature carpel splits open and two scarlet seeds hang out, each on an elastic thread. The wind buffets them until they dangle several inches below the conical fruit. Then a gust tears them off, and if they fall in moist leaf mould or on the damp border of a stream, young cucumber trees spring up from this planting.
The cucumber tree is not yet appreciated as a shade and avenue tree in the Northern States. It has few faults and many virtues. It grows vigorously from seed and after transplanting. The digging and planting must be carefully managed, as the fleshy roots of all magnolias are brittle. Since the tree is com paratively rare in the northern part of its range, nursery stock or seed should be planted rather than stripling trees from the woods.
The Yellow Cucumber Tree has been cultivated in gardens for over a century. It has bright yellow blossoms, and dark, almost evergreen leaves. In the wilds of central Alabama and the Blue Ridge of South Carolina has been found the yellow flowered prototype of this garden form. It is named for its broad, heart-shaped leaves, var. cordata, of Magnolia acuininata.
In cultivation the variety has been considerably modified. Umbrella Tree (Magnolia tripetala, Linn.)—A round topped or conical tree 3o to 40 feet high, of irregular habit, with stout contorted branches and twigs. Bark thin, grey, smooth, with bristly warts. Wood close, soft, pale brown, weak; sap wood yellow. Buds: terminal, purplish with pale bloom, pointed, inch long; lateral, round, short, reddish brown. Leaves 16 to 20 inches long, obovate, acute, entire, tapering narrowly to the stout petiole, smooth, thin, bright green. Flowers white, cup shaped, of unpleasant odour, 4 to 5 inches deep, soon spreading open, the 3 sepals recurved. Fruit elongated, smooth, 2 to 4 long, rose coloured when ripe; seeds -1 inch long. Preferred habitat, swamp borders and banks of mountain streams. Distri bution, Pennsylvania to southern Alabama, northeastern Missis sippi and southwestern Arkansas. Nearly to the coast in South Atlantic States. Uses: An ornamental tree in temperate regions of Eastern States and Europe.