Magnolia tripetala
Common name:
Umbrella Magnolia
Umbrella Tree
Elkwood
Pronunciation:
mag-NO-li-a tri-PET-a-la
Family:
Magnoliaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Deciduous tree or shrub, 20-30(40) ft, [6-9(12) m]. Leaves simple, oblong-obovate, very large (25-60 cm long, 15-25 cm wide) coarse, tend to cluster at end of branches. Creamy-white, solitary, flowers, 15-25 cm across, 6-9(12) tepals, and unpleasantly fragrant.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 6 Native from southern Pennsylvania to northern Georgia and Alabama to Kentucky and Arkansas, growing in deep, moist soil in forests along mountain streams or swamp margins.
- Magnolia: after Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), professor of botany at Montpellier. tripetala: with three petals, the name was selected by Linnaeus but it is not botanically correct. The flower of this species has 6 or more petals (inner tepals). Apparently the name refers to the three petaloid sepals (outer tepals) which are pale green and reflexed (Callaway, 1994).
- Oregon State Univ. campus: in protected area north of Bexell