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Cucumber Tree

Magnolia acuminata

Also known as: Cucumber Magnolia

Cucumber tree ranges farther north than any other American magnolia and is the only one native to Canada, which is what lets a genus most people file under the Deep South grow as a forest tree in Ontario and Ohio. Its flowers are the least showy in the genus: greenish-yellow, held upright and largely hidden among the leaves high in the crown, so a tree in full bloom can go unnoticed from the ground. The name comes from the young fruit, a knobby green cylinder that really does resemble a small cucumber before it ripens and splits to dangle scarlet seeds on slender threads. Those seeds are heavy and oily, and towhees, thrushes and squirrels take them straight off the tree. It grows fast and straight into a tall pyramidal shade tree, wants deep moist soil, and resents drought and compaction.

Family

Magnoliaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

40–70 ft

Spacing

20–35 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade, shade

Soil moisture

moist, wet

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

May, June

Bloom colors

yellow, green, brown

Wildlife value

mammals, songbirds, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~21 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

specimen, rain garden

Native states

AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV