Bi@leaf in the Cumberlands by James W. Kelly

Without a doubt, the bigleaf and dusk was rapidly approaching, and magnolia, Magnolia macrophylla, is we did not remain long. I collected one of the most spectacular of the trees fruiting herbarium specimens from of the temperate world. It has the both species of the felled magnolias. largest undivided leaves of any Even at that time, the fruits were quite temperate woody plant. Its gorgeous large. On M. macrophylla, they would white flowers are often ten inches ultimately grow to the size of baseballs. across, with magenta crescents at the Two days later I returned to the bases of the three inner tepals. The same area shortly after ten o' clock in splendid leaves, particularly on open the morning before the weather grown trees, are often slightly became uncomfonably hot. This time I decurved, exposing their glaucous parked farther up the ridge near the reverses. side of a small ravine. I could not have picked a more beautiful day. The forest I have seen the bigleaf magnolia was still damp from an early morning cultivated in several locations, mostly shower. As in thc case of Magnolia arboretums, but I have always wanted fraseri in the Smoky Mountains, the to see it in its habitat. Like the saguaro opening made by the road benefited cactus in Arizona, such a distinct the bigleal' and umbrella magnolias. species would dominate the landscape. More light reached the forest floor to Since I would be near its habitat, I about one hundred feet from the edge wanted to make every effort to see a where the population was the densest. wild population. The parent bigleaf magnolia was a magnificent specimen about 45 During the last week of June 1982, I was in West Asheville, North Carolina. feet tall by the edge ot a stream. Its from former lichen I drove over to the University of trunk was spotted was Tennessee in Knoxville, to visit Dr. growth. Nearby a large arborescent Aaron J. Sharp, a noted authority on umbrella tree. The ecology of the area Southern flora. We drove a was most interesting. considerable distance to the northwest, As to the perpetuation of M. passing through Oak Ridge, then macrophylla, the forest appeared to Wartburg to Route 27, into the have been cut about 60 years ago. Cumberland Mountains, a system of White oak was the dommant species low mountains and ridges. Nine miles but none was much larger than a foot out of Wartburg we took a sharp turn in diameter. Age estimation was to the left at the junction of Route 62, difficult by sight because the soil was which brought us to a ridge. Halfway thin and underlain with flat rocks causing slower growth in the up the ridge we stopped along a canopy. clearing beneath a power line. Much to Apparently, the two large magnolias our regret, some fine specimens of had been spared; thus the population Magnolia marraphylla and M. rripeiala of both species was regenerated. The had just been cut down to keep the smallest seedlings were virtually swath open. The leaves had not even indistinguishable, but M. marrophrlla wilted yet. However, on both sides of develops cordate leaves in its second the road was undisturbed forest with year, then followed by the typical many trees of all sizes of both specie~. auriculate ones with glaucous reverses. Unlike M. fraseri, both the bigleaf The weather was oppressively hot magnolia and umbrella tree can 7