Cucumber Magnolia Tree (Magnolia acumulata)

The Magnolia tree acquires its name from the botanist Pierre Magnol. This native, Carolinian tree is listed as rare and it is protected in the wild by law due to its scarcity. Magnolias are found worldwide but the Cucumber Magnolia is the only native magnolia to Canada. Their natural habitat in eastern North America ranges from southern Ontario to Georgia and Arkansas.

These trees can top 30 meters in height making them one of the tallest and cold-hardy Magnolias in the world. You will typically find them in rich, moist sites even in elevated areas within swamps. Where there are forest clearings, you might glimpse Magnolia since they require sun and are only semi-shade tolerant.

Absolutely everyone wonders about the name. Why cucumber? The answer is found in its very unusual fruit. Once the beautiful yellow flowers are spent and the petals have fallen the Magnolia develops elongated seed pods. The pods become an attractive rosy pink and the pods look like bright pink pickles! Then the pickles slowly start to break open showing bright orange seeds dangling from a fine silky strand. It takes almost a week for the strand to break and allow the dangling seed to fall to the ground.

The truly fascinating aspect of this tree is the flowering and pollination. From fossil records, dating back over 95 million years ago, Magnolias are considered to be the most ancient of all flowering plants. In fact, the Magnolia flowers evolved before bees and are only pollinated by beetles. These highly specialized flowers are specifically designed to attract beetles by being large in shape, white to pink in color, lack nectar but very abundant in pollen and the flowers actually close at night to avoid visitations from moths. This pollination relationship between Magnolia and beetle is undeniable since the tree is self-incompatible where the tree cannot receive pollen from another flower on the same tree.

By 2010, only 200 wild documented trees were left. Many sites only had 1 reproductive individual. This makes these Magnolia populations very prone to catastrophes such as ice storms. There are many reasons for this gorgeous tree being endangered. Deforestation and loss of habitat are factors where reproductive trees are separated by fragmented forests and cannot get properly pollinated. Also, many trees are on private lands and are removed for land clearing not understanding their vulnerable status. Lastly, there is a definite lack of wild regeneration. Seeds are eaten and dispersed by several species of birds and mammals. Unfortunately, mice and rodents adore feasting on the seeds and germinated seedlings and that results in very low regeneration rates.

From reviewing recovery strategies, it seems that without human intervention our Cucumber Magnolia populations will likely become more isolated and, in turn, experience a decrease in genetic diversity. This lack of genetic diversity poses a very real threat to the long-term survival of our remaining wild Magnolias.

A truly unusual and gorgeous tree. Won’t you consider planting a Cucumber Magnolia?