Cirrus IndexCucumbertree - Magnolia acuminata
Growing to 30 meters (100 ft.), cucumbertree is the most widespread and hardy of the eight magnolia species native to the United States, and the only magnolia native to Canada.
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Magnolia acuminata
Cucumbertree

Cucumbertree, also called cucumber magnolia, yellow cucumbertree, yellow-flower magnolia, and mountain magnolia, is the most widespread and hardiest of the eight native magnolia species in the United States, and the only magnolia native to Canada.

They reach their greatest size in moist soils of slopes and valleys in the mixed hardwood forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Growth is fairly rapid and maturity is reached in 80 to 120 years. The soft, durable, straight-grained wood is similar to yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). They are often marketed together and used for pallets, crates, furniture, plywood, and special products. The seeds are eaten by birds and rodents and this tree is suitable for planting in parks.

In general, wildlife use of cucumbertree for food is low; however, the seeds are eaten by several species of birds and small mammals. Grackles and blackbirds also eat the young fruit of the cucumber tree. Twigs, leaves, and buds are browsed by deer; although cucumbertree is classed as nonpalatable by some investigators, others have considered it an important deer plant food in West Virginia during one or more seasons.

Cucumbertree is a valuable forest and shade tree, highly desirable for ornamental planting because of the showy flowers, fruits, and attractive foliage and bark (18). This species has been planted successfully well north of its native range; it grows well in slightly acid, well-drained soil. (1)

Cucumbertree Leaflet
Leaves are huge, 6-10 inches long

Cucumbertree is widely distributed but never abundant. It grows on cool moist sites mostly in the mountains from western New York and southern Ontario southwest to Ohio, southern Indiana and Illinois, southern Missouri south to southeastern Oklahoma and Louisiana; east to northwest Florida and central Georgia; and north in the mountains to Pennsylvania.

Cucumbertree is the hardiest of the native tree-size magnolias. The climate is described as humid to subhumid throughout its range. There are 110 to 260 days in the growing season, with 150 to 160 frost-free days in the northern portion of the range and 180 to 230 frost-free days in the southern portion. Annual precipitation measures 890 to 2030 min (35 to 80 in), of which about 510 to 1020 mm. (20 to 40 in) fall during the growing season. The mean annual temperature varies from a low of 7° C (45° F) in the northern range to 18° C (65° F) in the south. January temperatures usually are between -7° to 10° C (20° to 50° F); July temperatures are between 18° to 27° C (65° to 80° F); however, sometimes there are extremes well above and well below these temperatures for relatively short periods of time. Average annual snowfall measures from 200 cm (80 in) or more in the north to only a trace of snow in the south.

 

Cucumbertree Bark
Cucumbertree Bark

Damaging Agents
Cucumbertree has no important disease agents; however, it is very sensitive to ground fires and frost. Nectria galligena is common on cucumbertree stands on unsuitable sites, particularly in the southern Appalachian region. Nectria cankers cause defects but seldom kill the tree.

Ambrosia beetles such as Platypus compositus, a common wood borer, seriously degrade recently felled trees during warm months. In the South, it is common to saw logs within 2 to 3 weeks after felling. The magnolia scale (Neolecanium cornuparuum), one of the largest scale insects in the United States, can seriously injure magnolia species. Other sap-sucking insects that attack cucumbertree are the European fruit lecanium (Parthenolecanium corni); the oleander pit scale (Asterolecanium pustulans); and the San Jose scale (Quadraspidiotus perniciosus). Common insect defoliators of cucumbertree are 0dontopus calceatus, Phyllocnistis magnoliella, and Phyllophaga forsteri. Sapsucker damage is common on cucumbertree. Bird peck causes stain streaks in the wood several feet above and below each peck, resulting in lumber degrade.

Special Uses
In general, wildlife use of cucumbertree for food is low; however, the seeds are eaten by several species of birds and small mammals. Grackles and blackbirds also eat the young fruit of the cucumber tree. Twigs, leaves, and buds are browsed by deer; although cucumbertree is classed as nonpalatable by some investigators, others have considered it an important deer plant food in West Virginia during one or more seasons.

Cucumbertree is a valuable forest and shade tree, highly desirable for ornamental planting because of the showy flowers, fruits, and attractive foliage and bark (18). This species has been planted successfully well north of its native range; it grows well in slightly acid, well-drained soil.

Cucumbertree is used for wood products and resembles yellow-poplar except that the wood is heavier, harder, and stronger. This species is commonly used for lumber in the Appalachian Mountains, especially in West Virginia and adjoining States. The wood is usually sold as yellow-poplar; it has not been sold as cucumbertree lumber since 1928. The wood is used in furniture, fixtures, Venetian blinds, siding, interior trim, sashes, doors, boxes, and crates. Cucumbertree is not as desirable for fuelwood as the denser hardwoods. Compared with hickory, which has a fuel value of 100, cucumbertree has a fuel value of 57 (on a volume basis).

Cucumbertree can reach a height of about 30 m (100 ft) and a d.b.h. of 91 to 122 cm (36 to 48 in). Typically, this tree is 18 to 24 m (60 to 80 ft) tall and 60 cm (24 in) in d.b.h. Cucumbertree grows fast in moist, deep soils of coves and lower slopes. This species matures in 100 years and seldom lives more than 150 years (8). Generally, the species is rapid growing and short lived. There are no available published data on the growth rate and yield of individual trees. The root system for cucumbertree is deep and widespread, and trees rarely develop a taproot. Cucumbertree is susceptible to windthrow, especially on steep slopes. (1)

References:
1. USDA United States Forest Service   

Cucumbertree Foliage
Cucumbertree Foliage

Cucumbertree flowers from early April through early July depending on location. Self-pollination usually does not occur because the flowers do not produce ripe pollen until the female stigma is no longer receptive. Magnolia flowers are perfect and are borne singly at the ends of the branches. They appear after the leaves start developing. The flowers close at night and do not last longer than 2 to 4 days.

Pollination is largely by insects. The fruit, a green cucumber-shaped cone, ripens in late August or September. The thickened, rounded, red knobby follicles open exposing reddish-orange seeds that hang on slender threads before falling to the ground. The outer seedcoat is fleshy, oily, and soft; the inner seedcoat is hard, thin, and membranous enclosing a large and fleshy endosperm.

Weather adversely influences the sensitive flower receptivity and available pollen. Also, cucumbertrees have a shorter period of receptivity and pollen shedding than other native magnolias.

 

 
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