Magnolia macrophylla

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Bigleaf magnolia
MagnoliaMacrophylla.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Magnoliaceae
Genus: Magnolia
Subgenus: Magnolia subg. Magnolia
Section: Magnolia sect. Macrophylla
Species:
M. macrophylla
Binomial name
Magnolia macrophylla
Magnolia macrophylla range map.jpg
Natural range

Magnolia macrophylla, the bigleaf magnolia, is a deciduous magnolia native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. This species boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America.

Contents

Classification

M. macrophylla var. ashei flower in female phase. M.macrophylla var. ashei 200706.jpg
M. macrophylla var. ashei flower in female phase.

Magnolia macrophylla has three subspecies; some botanists treat these plants as three separate species:

Description

The bigleaf magnolia is a medium-sized understory tree 50–65 feet tall. This species is distinguished from other magnolias by the large leaf size, 10–32 inch long and 4–35 inch broad. The largest leaf to be reported by a credible source is 3 ft 8 in (110 centimeters) in length. [3] [4] in addition to a six inch (15 centimeter) petiole. The leaf's width can be up to eighteen inches (45 centimeters). [5] [6] The tree's branches often bend under the weight of this heavy foliage. The flowers are typically six or nine-petaled (two or three whorls of three petals each, the larger ones with a dime-sized purple blotch at the base). The flower has as many as 580 stamens [7] and is typically about sixteen inches (41 centimeters) wide, although there have been specimens as large as 21.5 inches (55 centimeters) in width. [8] [9] [10] [11] It is the largest temperate (non-tropical) flower in the world. This, like all Magnolias, is beetle pollinated. The fruit is a cone-like cluster of achenes. The mature seeds, each covered with an orange aril, hang down from the cone on silk-like threads. making themselves readily available to passing birds.

Bee Mortality

At the Arnold Arboretum, dead bees have been observed inside Bigleaf magnolia flowers. [12]

Distribution and habitat

Bigleaf magnolia is found in rich mesic woods; any disturbance that lets more light reach the ground is beneficial to the establishment of bigleaf magnolia, but despite its relatively fast growth-rate when stimulated by more light, other understory and canopy trees/seedlings are usually able to outgrow and out-compete it. This suits the plant just fine as it is tolerant of low light levels; it does not need full sun to survive once established (however, it does not tolerate full shade). Natural regeneration is quite limited due to the scarcity of mature, seed-bearing plants and the fact that this tree's population mostly consists of widely scattered individuals. In addition, this species is plagued by poor seed set (most likely from limiting factors mentioned above) and low seed viability, a trait shared by its cousin and frequent associate in the wild in Appalachia, the Fraser magnolia.

The Ashe magnolia is a rare shrub, exceptionally a small tree, that is found only along the bluffs and ravines adjacent to the Apalachicola River in Florida, along with several other rare plants unique to the area, such as Florida Yew and Florida torreya. It resembles the typical subsp. macrophylla, but has shorter, broader leaves, smaller flowers, and longer fruits. The 6-to-8-inch-diameter (150 to 200 mm) flowers bloom in late spring, and are white with rose-purple blotches on the inner tepals. The fruit is eaten by wildlife, but because of the plant's scarceness, it does not form a significant portion of any creature's diet.

In the southeastern United States, especially Alabama and surrounding areas, Magnolia macrophylla is sometimes called the "cowcumber magnolia," in contrast with the much smaller-leaved cucumber-tree magnolia, M. acuminata.

Threats

Collection, both legal and illegal, may have an adverse impact on this tree's population due to low population density, and high collection pressure can extirpate this species locally. Bigleaf magnolia is listed as threatened in North Carolina and endangered in Arkansas and Ohio. The Florida Department of Agriculture lists the Ashe magnolia as endangered, due to its small population and restricted range. The Mexican bigleaf magnolia is also endangered, by loss of habitat.[ citation needed ]

Cultivation

Bigleaf magnolia is often short-lived under cultivation unless its rather demanding requirements are met. This tree likes loose, undisturbed rich mesic soil (or mulch and compost substitutes) in full sun or part shade with moist, well-drained soil and a low pH. [13] This tree will likely succeed in sites that closely mimic its natural habitat and where it is protected from strong wind that can tatter its large foliage. It can be grown farther north than its southerly range suggests, but needs watering during extended dry periods. This plant is generally problem-free.

Related Research Articles

<i>Magnolia</i> Genus of angiosperms

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 to 340 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. The natural range of Magnolia species is disjunct, with a main center in east and southeast Asia and a secondary center in eastern North America, Central America, the West Indies, and some species in South America.

<i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i> Species of tree

Liriodendron tulipifera—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, lynn-tree, hickory-poplar, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron, and the tallest eastern hardwood. It is native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario and possibly southern Quebec to Illinois eastward to southwestern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and south to central Florida and Louisiana. It can grow to more than 50 m (160 ft) in virgin cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 25–30 m (80–100 ft) in height, making it a very valuable timber tree. The tallest individual at the present time (2021) is one called the Fork Ridge Tulip Tree at a secret location in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Repeated measurements by laser and tape-drop have shown it to be 191 feet 10 inches (58.47 m) in height. This is the tallest known individual tree in eastern North America.

<i>Liquidambar styraciflua</i> Tree species

American sweetgum, also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America. Sweetgum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates. It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits. It is currently classified in the plant family Altingiaceae, but was formerly considered a member of the Hamamelidaceae.

<i>Magnolia acuminata</i> Species of tree

Magnolia acuminata, commonly called the cucumber tree, cucumber magnolia or blue magnolia, is one of the largest magnolias, and one of the cold-hardiest. It is a large forest tree of the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario in Canada. It is a tree that tends to occur singly as scattered specimens, rather than in groves.

<i>Magnolia virginiana</i> Species of tree in the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae

Magnolia virginiana, most commonly known as sweetbay magnolia, or merely sweetbay, is a member of the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae. It was the first magnolia to be scientifically described under modern rules of botanical nomenclature, and is the type species of the genus Magnolia; as Magnolia is also the type genus of all flowering plants (magnoliophytes), this species in a sense typifies all flowering plants.

<i>Magnolia stellata</i> Species of shrub or tree

Magnolia stellata, sometimes called the stellaris magnolia, is a slow-growing shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia, and is treated by many botanists as a variety or even a cultivar of that. However, Magnolia stellata was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by Hunt.

<i>Magnolia tripetala</i> Species of tree

Magnolia tripetala, commonly called umbrella magnolia or simply umbrella-tree, is a deciduous tree native to the eastern United States in the Appalachian Mountains, the Ozarks, and the Ouachita Mountains. The name "umbrella tree" derives from the fact that the large leaves are clustered at the tips of the branches forming an umbrella-shaped structure.

<i>Magnolia fraseri</i> Species of tree

Magnolia fraseri, commonly known as Fraser magnolia, mountain magnolia, earleaf cucumbertree, or mountain-oread, is a species of magnolia native to the south-eastern United States in the southern Appalachian Mountains and adjacent Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain from West Virginia south to northern Florida and west to eastern Texas. The Appalachian plants are classified as Magnolia fraseri var. fraseri, and the more coastal plants as M. fraseri var. pyramidata. These two kinds of magnolia are often recognized as distinct species, M. fraseri and M. pyramidata, respectively.

<i>Magnolia denudata</i> Species of plant

Magnolia denudata, the lilytree or Yulan magnolia, is native to central and eastern China. It has been cultivated in Chinese Buddhist temple gardens since 600 AD. Its flowers were regarded as a symbol of purity in the Tang dynasty and it was planted in the grounds of the emperor's palace. It is the official city flower of Shanghai.

<i>Magnolia sieboldii</i> Species of tree

Magnolia sieboldii, or Siebold's magnolia, also known as Korean mountain magnolia and Oyama magnolia, is a species of Magnolia native to east Asia in China, Japan, and Korea. It is named after the German doctor Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Harold Hillier Gardens</span> Arboretum in England

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron.

<i>Populus deltoides</i> Species of tree

Populus deltoides, the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.

<i>Heptacodium</i> Tree endemic to China (seven-son tree)

Heptacodium miconioides, the seven-son flower, is a species of flowering plant. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Heptacodium, of the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The common name "seven-son flower" is a direct translation of the Standard Chinese name 七子花 qī zi huā.

<i>Magnolia cylindrica</i> Species of flowering plant

Magnolia cylindrica, the Huangshan magnolia, is a species of plant in the family Magnoliaceae. It is endemic to southeastern China. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Magnolia dealbata</i> Species of tree

Magnolia dealbata is a species of flowering plant in the family Magnoliaceae, native to Mexico. It is known commonly as the cloudforest magnolia and eloxochitl. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of Magnolia macrophylla, which is otherwise native to the southeastern United States.

<i>Magnolia zenii</i> Species of tree

Magnolia zenii is a species of plant in the family Magnoliaceae. It is endemic to China.

<i>Prunus sargentii</i> Species of tree

Prunus sargentii, commonly known as Sargent's cherry or North Japanese hill cherry, is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea, and Sakhalin (Russia).

Matelea alabamensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family known by the common names Alabama milkvine, Alabama anglepod, and Alabama spiny-pod. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

Elaeocarpus largiflorens, commonly known as tropical quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a medium-sized to large tree, sometimes with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, mostly elliptic leaves and reddish-brown flowers.

Magnolia rzedowskiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Magnoliaceae. It is native to the Sierra Madre Oriental of San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, and Hidalgo states in eastern Mexico.

References

  1. Global Tree Specialist Group (2014). "Magnolia macrophylla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T62595A3116514. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T62595A3116514.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Pattison, Graham (18 October 2022). "Magnolia Dealbata" (PDF). Magnolia Society.
  3. Velasquez-Garcia, Jose Antonio; et al. (July 2015). "Magnolia rzedowskiana (Magnoliaceae), una especie nueva de la sección Macrophylla de la parte central de la sierra Madre Oriental, México" [Magnolia rzedowskiana (Magnoliaceae), a new species of section Macrophylla from the central Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico] (in Spanish). Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  4. Memim Encyclopedia (see below) loc. cit.
  5. Breen, Patrick. "O.S.U. Landscape Plants - Magnolia macrophylla" . Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  6. "Memim Encyclopedia - Magnolia macrophylla". 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  7. Velasquez-Garcia loc. cit.
  8. Raynel, Charles E. (May 1938). "Big Leaf Magnolia". American Forests. 44 (5): 204 Photo with caption.
  9. <not given> (March 1928). "<not recorded>". Nature Magazine. 11 (3): 184 photo with caption.
  10. Coker, Dr. William C.; Totten, Dr. Henry R. (1945). Trees of the Southeastern States (Third ed.). Chapel Hill, N.C.: Univ. N. Carolina Press. p. 186.
  11. "Name That Plant Net - South Carolina's Native Magnolias" . Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  12. William Friedman (March 2021). "Seeing Life—Re-engaging with nature". Harvard Magazine . Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  13. Hastings, Don (2001). Trees for the South. Atlanta, Georgia: Longstreet Press. p. 109. ISBN   1-56352-596-8.