Magnolia Family I found this tree blooming in late April near the Wye, the Townsend entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The leaves of the Umbrella Magnolia tree are huge, when they turn brown in the fall, they look like tobacco leaves on the ground! The flowers are not as large and stiff as those of the evergreen Southern Magnolia. This flower does not have the sweet aroma of its southern relative, it smells rather musky. The Magnolia family is one of the oldest of the flowering plants. Flowers have not always been with us, they did not appear until the Cretaceous Period (130 million years ago), the time of the last era of dinosaurs. What a dull world it would have been before then! :) Perennial - Tree Where seen:Great Smoky Mountains NP, University of Tennessee Arboretum, Frozen Head SP, Piney River
In autumn the fruit-bearing cones and fruits of these magnolias turn a brilliant pink to attract birds. Frasier Magnolia trees also have huge leaves, the difference being that the bases have 2 lobes ("ears"); Umbrella Magnolias don't have the lobes. I think of the TV character "Frasier" having ears to help me remember the difference! It may be silly, but it helps!
Broomrape Family April 28, 2005 Height: 2" - 8" A parasite of plant roots, One-flowered Cancer Root does not have leaves or contain chlorophyll. As the common and genus names imply, each stem has only one flower. This picture was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains in a deep woods along the Chestnut Top trail in late April. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP
