umbrella magnolia Magnoliaceae Magnolia
tripetala (L.) L. symbol: MATR
|Leaf: Alternate, simple, very large, 12 to 24 inches long, lacking "ear-lobes" at base, margin entire, mostly obovate, green and shiny above, paler below, often crowded near ends of twig.
Flower: Species is monoecious; very large and showy, inner petals creamy white (3 to 5 inches), outer petals greenish white, unpleasant odor, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit: Cone-like, 4 to 6 inches long, green turning pink when mature, later turning brown, individual seeds pink to red, matures in late summer to early fall.
Twig: Stout, green turning to brown, lighter lenticels, swollen at base of each year's growth; terminal buds large (1 to 2 inches long), green turning to brownish purple, often with a white bloom, sometimes curved.
Bark: Thin, gray, smooth but often with numerous raised lenticels.
Form: Small tree to 40 feet, often with several trunks, narrow crown.
Looks like: cucumbertree
- Fraser magnolia
- bigleaf magnolia
| Additional Range Information:
Magnolia tripetala is native to North America.
may be expanded by planting.
See states reporting umbrella magnolia.
| External Links:
USDA Plants Database
|© Copyright 2015, Virginia Tech|
Dept. of Forest Resources
and Environmental Conservation,
all rights reserved.
Photos and text by: John Seiler,
Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera,
and John Peterson