Magnolias Plant Directory

Magnolia fraseri
Epithet: named after the Scottish botanist John Fraser (1750-1811),who collected extensively in the Appalachian Mountains.
A species of Magnolia native to the southeastern United States in the southern Appalachian Mountains and adjacent coastal plain south to northern Florida and west to eastern Texas.
It is a small, deciduous tree growing to 14 m tall, basal-branching, fragrant plant, with brown bark and a "warty" or "scaly" texture.
Flowers: are white, 16-25 cm diameter with nine tepals; they open in late spring or early summer, after the foliage. The fruit is a woody, oblong, cone-like structure (like all Magnolias) 6.5-12 cm long, covered in small, pod-like follicles which contain one or two red seeds that hang out from the cone by a slender thread when ripe. A good seed crop occurs only every 4 to 5 years.
Leaves: The leaves are 15-25 cm (rarely up to 53 cm) long and 8-18 cm (rarely up to 29 cm) broad, with a pair of auricles at the base and an entire margin; they are green above and glaucous blue-green below.
This tree grows best on rich, moist, well-drained soil.
There are two varieties:
* Magnolia fraseri var. fraseri. Appalachian Mountains.
* Magnolia fraseri var. pyramidata (Bartram) Pampanini. Coastal Plain.