What is "magnolia acuminata"

Magnolia \Mag*no"li*a\, n. [NL. Named after Pierre Magnol, professor of botany at Montpellier, France, in the 17th century.] (Bot.) A genus of American and Asiatic trees, with aromatic bark and large sweet-scented whitish or reddish flowers.

Note: Magnolia grandiflora has coriaceous shining leaves and very fragrant blossoms. It is common from North Carolina to Florida and Texas, and is one of the most magnificent trees of the American forest. The sweet bay ( Magnolia glauca)is a small tree found sparingly as far north as Cape Ann. Other American species are Magnolia Umbrella, Magnolia macrophylla, Magnolia Fraseri, Magnolia acuminata, and Magnolia cordata. Magnolia conspicua and Magnolia purpurea are cultivated shrubs or trees from Eastern Asia. Magnolia Campbellii, of India, has rose-colored or crimson flowers.

Magnolia warbler (Zo["o]l.), a beautiful North American wood warbler ( Dendroica maculosa). The rump and under parts are bright yellow; the breast and belly are spotted with black; the under tail coverts are white; the crown is ash.

Cucumber \Cu"cum*ber\ (k?`k?m-b?r, formerly kou"k?m-b?r), n. [OE. cucumer, cocumber, cucumber, fr. L. cucmis, gen.cucumeris; cf. OF. cocombre,F. concombre.] (Bot.) A creeping plant, and its fruit, of several species of the genus Cucumis, esp. Cucumis sativus, the unripe fruit of which is eaten either fresh or picked. Also, similar plants or fruits of several other genera. See below. Bitter cucumber (Bot.), the Citrullus Colocynthis syn. Cucumis Colocynthis. See Colocynth. Cucumber beetle. (Zo["o]l.)

1. A small, black flea-beetle ( Crepidodera cucumeris), which destroys the leaves of cucumber, squash, and melon vines.

2. The squash beetle. Cucumber tree.

   1. A large ornamental or shade tree of the genus Magnolia (Magnolia acuminata), so called from a slight resemblance of its young fruit to a small cucumber.

   2. An East Indian plant ( Averrhoa Bilimbi) which produces the fruit known as bilimbi.

      Jamaica cucumber, Jerusalem cucumber, the prickly-fruited gherkin ( Cucumis Anguria).

      Snake cucumber, a species ( Cucumis flexuosus) remarkable for its long, curiously-shaped fruit.

      Squirting cucumber, a plant ( Ecbalium Elaterium) whose small oval fruit separates from the footstalk when ripe and expels its seeds and juice with considerable force through the opening thus made. See Elaterium.

      Star cucumber, a climbing weed ( Sicyos angulatus) with prickly fruit.

Magnolia acuminata, commonly called the cucumber tree (often spelled as a single word "cucumbertree"), cucumber magnolia or blue magnolia, is one of the largest magnolias, and one of the cold-hardiest. It is a large forest tree of the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario, Canada. It is a tree that tends to occur singly as scattered specimens, rather than in groves.

The cucumber tree is native primarily within the Appalachian belt, including the Allegheny Plateau and Cumberland Plateau, up to western Pennsylvania and New York. There are also numerous disconnected outlying populations through much of the southeastern U.S., and a few small populations in Southern Ontario. In Canada, the cucumber tree is listed as an endangered species and is protected under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. In 1993 The North American Native Plant Society purchased Shining Tree Woods to preserve a stand of Magnolia acuminata, which is also known as "The Shining Tree".

The leaves are deciduous simple and alternate, oval to oblong, 12–25 cm long and 6–12 cm wide, with smooth margins and downy on the underside. They come in two forms, acuminate at both ends, or moderately cordate at the base (these are usually only formed high in the tree).

Unlike most magnolias, the flowers are not showy. They are typically small, yellow-green, and borne high in the tree in April through June. The leaves of Magnolia acuminata are pointed at the tip and provide it with its name - 'acuminate' means tapering to a fine point. The name Cucumber Tree refers to the unripe fruit, which is green and often shaped like a small cucumber; the fruit matures to a dark red color and is 6–8 cm long and 4 cm broad, with the individual carpels splitting open to release the bright red seeds, 10-60 per fruit. The ripe fruit is a striking reddish orange color.