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Magnolia acuminata

Common name:	Cucumber Tree	Family:	Magnoliaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - New York to Georgia, west to Alabama and Ontario.
Habitat:	Rich woods, especially in uplands[43]. Low mountain slopes and the rocky banks of streams[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	M. acuminata var. cordata[B,P] M. acuminata var. ozarkensis[B,P] M. acuminata var. subcordata[B,P] M. cordata[B,P] M. virginiana acuminata[H] M. virginiana var. acuminata[H] Tulipastrum acuminatum[B,P] Tulipastrum cordatum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cucumber-tree [B], Cucumbertree [P,DEN1], Magnolia [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	acuminata = tapering gradually to a point
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Magnoliales. Magnolia family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 20m by 10m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from May to July. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Beetles. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiperiodic Aromatic Diaphoretic Laxative Stimulant Tonic.

A tea made from the bark is antiperiodic, aromatic, mildly diaphoretic, laxative, stimulant, tonic[4, 222]. It has historically been used as a substitute for quinine in the treatment of malaria[222]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of stomach ache and cramps[257]. The bark has been chewed by people trying to break the tobacco habit[222]. A hot infusion of the bark has been snuffed to treat sinus problems and has also been held in the mouth to treat toothaches[257]. The bark is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238]. It does not store well so stocks should be renewed annually[238].
A tea made from the fruit is a tonic, used in the treatment of general debility and was formerly esteemed in the treatment of stomach ailments[222].

Other Uses

Rootstock Wood.

The roots are very disease-resistant and are used as a rootstock for less vigorous species[226].
Wood - finely grained, soft, light, durable, not strong[4, 46, 61, 82, 171, 229, 235]. It weighs 29lb per cubic foot[235]. It takes a very good polish and is used for boxes, crates, flooring, cabinet making etc[4, 46, 61, 171, 229].

Cultivation details

Best grown in a warm position in a moderately rich free soil of an open texture[1]. Tolerates limey soils[200] so long as they are deep and rich in humus[188]. The branches are brittle and so a sheltered position is required[200]. Very tolerant of atmospheric pollution[200].
Plants are hardy to about -28° c[200].
A fairly fast-growing tree, it takes about 25 - 30 years before it first produces flowers and lives about 125 - 150 years in the wild[229]. The sub-species M. acuminata cordata begins flowering at an earlier age[245]. Good seed crops are produced about every 3 - 5 years[229].
The flowers have a delicate perfume[245].
The fleshy roots are easily damaged and any transplanting is best done during a spell of mild moist weather in late spring[182].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed must be kept cold over the winter and should be sown in late winter in a cold frame[200]. The seed usually germinates in the spring but it can take 18 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse for at least their first winter. They can be planted out into their permanent positions when they are more than 15cm tall, though should be well mulched and given some protection from winter cold for their first winter or two outdoors.
Layering in early spring[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a delicate perfume[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

References for the family Magnoliaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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