OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Magnoliales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata   FAMILY Magnoliaceae   Go to FSUS key



INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Magnolia acuminata   FAMILY Magnoliaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)

Magnolia acuminata

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 080-02-007:

Magnolia acuminata   FAMILY Magnoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)

Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Tulipastrum acuminatum

 

COMMON NAME:
Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p33a

        

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_376

        

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_maac_001_lvd

        

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm0402c_09

February    Rutherford County    NC

Chimney Rock Park

Terminal bud grayish, with silky hairs, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_magnolia_acuminata

March        

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm200418_3914

April    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm110513_541

May    Greenville County    SC

Camp Old Indian

SC State Champion Tree.

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm120517_125

May    Yancey County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Leaves lacking auriculate base & spaced along twig (not crowded terminally), per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Magnolia species

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_magnolia_acuminata_2

May        

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Will Stuart    wil_9023183721_53de1d8216

May    Madison County    NC

Slightly fragrant, yellowish-green, 2-4" long flowers, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Will Stuart    wil_9136212103_30c64d58e2

May    Madison County    NC

It attains a much greater stature than any other magnolia, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm100618_046

June    Cherokee County    NC

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm080729_094

July    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Buds white-silky, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm080729_097

July    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_m_acuminata_3

July    Towns-Union Counties    GA

Brasstown Bald

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm0508d_22

August    Transylvania County    NC

Bark gray-brown, furrowed into scaly ridges, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm230907_5400

September    Greenville County    SC

Greenville Watershed

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm230907_5401

September    Greenville County    SC

Greenville Watershed

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm181104_5596

November    Oconee County    SC

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm201107_8070

November    Greenville County    SC

Caesars Head State Park

image of Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata, Cucumber Magnolia, Cucumber-tree

JK Marlow    jkm201107_8071

November    Greenville County    SC

Caesars Head State Park

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata   FAMILY Magnoliaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Magnolia acuminata   FAMILY Magnoliaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Magnolia acuminata

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 080-02-007:
Magnolia acuminata   FAMILY Magnoliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Magnolia acuminata var. acuminata

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tulipastrum acuminatum

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

894

Tree
Perennial

Habitat: Mesic to subxeric forests, especially (but by no means strictly) over mafic or calcareous rocks, up to at least 1550m (where growing with Betula alleghaniensis, Abies fraseri, Picea rubens, and Sorbus americana), ultramafic outcrop barrens (where codominant with Pinus rigida and Quercus alba), per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Mountains (rare in Piedmont)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish, yellowish-green
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
6-12 petals
Numerous stamens
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer
Aggregate of follicles

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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