The large leaves of this tree, radiating in a whorl from a leaf tip, are shaped so they
just overlap each other, creating the "umbrellas." They also have "ear lobes" at the base.
Fraser magnolias are native to the southeastern
United States.
Identification: Trees reach 46′ (14 m) (max 73′ (22 m)), often with
multiple trunks or low branches. Trunks are up to 2′ (60 cm) in diameter. Bark is fairly smooth and gray, covered
with small wartlike lenticels. Leaves are 6-10″ (15-25 cm) long × 3-7″ (8-18 cm) wide (max about double
that), with smooth edges, green above, bluish green below, and unusually shaped. Flowers are 6-10″ (16-25 cm)
in diameter, composed of nine spoon-like tepals, cream-colored. The flowers are said to smell like a "wet goat." In the center of each flower is a woody, cone-shaped
fruit, 2½-4½″ (6.5-12 cm) long. The cone tips produce red fruits.
From the USDA Plants Database, Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Brown, Addison, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions, 1913, p. Vol. 2: 81.
From Curtis's Botanical Magazine; or flower garden displayed. London, 1809, volume 30 (plate 1206). Hand-coloured engraving by Francis Sansom after Sydenham Teast Edwards.
Probably Magnolia fraseri fruit. By Steven J. Baskauf, Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University.