Magnolia fraseri - (image 1 of 2)
Taxonomy
Family: Magnoliaceae
Habitat
Rich woods.
Associates
Distribution
Mountains of western VA to eastern KY, south to northern GA and AL. Naturalized further north.
Morphology
Deciduous tree to 15 m high. Twigs and winter terminal bud glabrous. Leaves distinctly cordate at base, green and glabrous beneath, more or less crowded below the flowers. Flowers white, fragrant, with 6-9 elliptic and somewhat clawed petals; style thick, persisting on smooth follicle; fruiting structure ellipsoid.
Notes
Flowers May and June
Wetland indicator: Facultative, Facultative Upland
I debated whether or not to include this species as I only had a single photograph that was taken at the Morton Arboretum. It is native to only a small portion of the Appalachian, Blue Ridge, and Cumberland Mountains of the southeastern U.S. The USDA PLANTS Database shows a population in southern NY, but there is no record of this tree being native to the state. This makes me to think that some of their distribution data represents naturalized populations, which can be misleading. Also called Umbrella Magnolia, probably due arrangement of the rather large leaves beneath the flower.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
USDA, NRCS. 2002.
The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
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Michael Hough © 2009 |