The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1851-06-21


Tho Botany OF tho South.
| The occasional and imperfect notices which
have appeared in the Crescent, we are happy to
find, are received with interest by few, at least,
Of our readers. Several papers have been sent us,
describing so@e Of the more conspicuous families Of
Louisiana. We are indebted to the scientific bota-
mist who last year furnished the descriptions Il the
wild rice and the wild cane for the following &C.
count of the Magnolia family. Some of these are
familiar to all of our Southern readers; but we
I doubt if many of them have ever seen the variety
with the large annual leaf. As this rare tree is
found in one locality in this State, and its flower
ID the largest and most beautiful native Of the
country, we hope some Of our horticulturists will
be at the pains of procuring seeds, if not young
trees.
It Is singular that, while large sums annually
paid for sXocs, little attention is paid to the cul
tivation of the native plants. The foreign works
on Botany contain many engravings of American
plants, which vie in beauty with those of other
portions of the world, and in those assemblages Of
flowers, we need not be ashamed of our represen-
tatives Hooker's Exotic Flora, an expensive Eng.
lish work, illustrating the green-house plants Of
England, contains large number of American
plants, which we do not consider worththe trouble
Of cultivating.
MAGNOLIA: The name Of genus of fine oyna-
mental trees, named in honor Of Pierre Magnol,
Professor Of Botany at Montpelier, about the close
the seventeenth century, author Of several valua
BE works on Botany. The type Of the natural
order, Magnolace Uuss) Glass and order, Poly
andria Polyginia, of the Linnean system. Flowers
sepals and petals, ternately disposed, caducous,
carpets one or two seeded, persistent forming a
strobie-like fruit, opening by the dorsal suture,
seeds bacchate scarlet red, suspended, hanging
when ripe, by long chord composed of spiral ves-
sells; leaves feather-veined, infinitely punctate.
(Torrey d Gray's Flora of North America.)
Stipules membranaceous one rolled up around each
leaf, in the bud caducous. Natives principally of
the eastern portions of North America and Asia.
Seven species are indigenous to the United States,
Of which four natives of Louisiana.
Magnolia GrandiRwo Ninn.): Leaves ever.
green, oval oblong, caraceous deep green, shining
above, ferruginous, tomentose beneath, petals nine
or twelve, obovate, expanding. North Carolina, to
Florida, Louisiana and Texas. In some limited
localities, as the Magnolia Hills" in the Parish
of Avoyelles, it is the predominant growth, and
attans to the size and appearance attributed to it
by Nuttall. Cultivated, the Magnolia Grandiaora
forms beautiful shade tree, and bears profusion
of flowers, which continue to expand successfully
from May to August-though, like the leaves the
flowers smaller than in the forest 1t is readily
produced from the seed.
Magnolia Glauca Qinn.) Leaves oblonp or
oval, white petals, ovate narrowed at base. On
the margin of swamps, about springs and along
small streams. As far north as Massachusetts. A
small tree, with smoothe, whitish bark, leaves
perennial, occasionally falling off toward the close
of winter. Flowers white, delightfully."- fragrant
Magnolia Cordata (Michx.): On mountains,
North Carolina to Georgia. (Elliott)
Magnolia Macrophylla (Michx): Long -leaved
Magnolia Leaves oblong-ovate, narrowe1 and
slightly heart-shaped at base, glaucous and y itish
beneath, crowded at the exremties of the branches
deciduous petals, ovate obtuse. Lincolnton, North
Carolina /; in Tennessee, near Cumberland River
on the Chattahoochee, Georgia; on Pearl River,
near Monticello, Mississippi; on Red River Parish
Of Rapdes, in the neighborhood of Big Creek /; in
light sandy soils. Trunk naked below, forty to |
fifty feet high, bark smoothe white except on the
runks Of old trees, leaves large, those of young |
prouts measuring three feet in length by one foot
a breadth-those Of old trees one-third smaller
flowers, when fully expanded, ten inches in
iameter, white, fragrant petals with purple spot
n the inside near the base, eight inches long by
nree wide Fruit oval, six to eight inches long,
lightly rose-cOlorsd seeds bright red. A. sas
iads tree, readily produced from the seed, and
oung trees Of all sizes are abundant among the
lllgrown trees. The large, white leaves scattered
yer the ground, in different stages Of decay, cannot
il to attract attention. II
The bark of all the species has bitter taste, 8
'mbined with strong aromatic pungency. The II
'oma is probably owing to an essential oil. The
y bark also affords little resin, and more of an
ttractive substance. As medical article, Mag
Ola is to be considered an aromatic tonic. 1t {
as been used with success in intermittent fevers
nd chronic rheumatism. |,