VOLUME 37 ISSUE NO . 72 FALL/wINrER 2002

voLUME 37 rssuE No .72

EditorPrudence Hol l iger

Scientific AdvisorRichard B. Figlar

364 Shady Crove RoadPickens SC 29671

Phone: 864-420-2869emai | : Magnol iacoco@aol.com

FALL/wrNrER 2002

the Journa

ContentsMin Pyong-Cal (Carl Ferris Miller)

Those Amazi ng Magno I ia F ru its

May I have the envelope, please...

The winner of the 2002 D. Todd Gresham Award ......--... ....... 20

Complete List of Winners of theD. Todd Gresham Award.. . . - . . . . . . - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

The Fate ofMagnolia grandiflora Seedlings inNorthern Wisconsin .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Phyl lotaxis in Magnolia Fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Selected Notes from the Mail Round Robin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Research Grants Avai1ab1e... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Front cover: M cylindrica 'Bjuv'Photo by Phil ippe de Spoelberch.

Back cover: M. macrophyl/a (Herkenrode accession number 95241) Photo by Philippede Sooelberch.

MACNOLIA, Journal of the Magnolia Society International (ISSN 0738-03053) ispublished two times a year by the Magnolia Society International, Inc., a not-for-profitsociety, as a service to its members. Address inquires about membership and requestsfor copies of the bylaws to the Secretary: Roberta Hagen, 6616-B1st Street, Cabin John,MD 20818 USA.

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Visit the NEW website: www.magnoliasociety.org

ISSUE 7 2 MAGNOLIA

Min Pyong-Gal (Carl Ferris Miller)December 24 1921-AprilB 2002

Although I had heard a lot about Carl Miller, as he was calledthen, from Harold and Barbara Hillier, who had him to stay atJermyns House and who had also stayed with him in Korea aftertheir tour in japan, it was not until 1968 that I first met him. I wasattending a tour of the Devon and Cornish gardens organized byLadyAnne Berry for the International Dendrology Society (ros).Itwas his first tour too and we very quickly struck up a friendshipwhich was to last until his death earlier this year.

The next IDs tour, the followingyear, was to be in Japan and I wasvery excited at the prospect, as I dearly wanted to see Camelliajaponica growing in the wild. Fenis told me that I was quitewron& as the biggest camellias grew in Korea! I took this with apinch of salt, but he stuck to his guns and invited me to come toKorea after the fapanese tour to prove his point. The Japanese tourwas superb and I really felt an anticlimax on the airplane beforearriving at Kimpo airport in Seoul.I need not have worried as Iwas immediately captivated by the country the people, and, ofcourse, the Camellias, which really were as huge as he had said!Ferris, as I now knew him, was the perfect host and I stayed withhim at his house in Seoul and at Chollipo. His son,Yonsu, had justfinished at University and showed me around Seoul while Ferriswas at work at the bank. Later in the week, we drove down toChollipo, arriving in the dark, to a wonderful dinner cooked byFerris'ajumoni, who kept house for him until he died.The nextmorning we toured the arboretum in its beautiful setting on theYellow Sea.

Ferris had a capacity of spotting very bright young Koreans towork in the Arboretum and it was very refreshing to be amongthese cheerful and very polite young Koreans with a thirst forknowledge that knows no bounds. Korea has changed dramati-cally since those days, but I was hooked and I have returned manv

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Chol l ipo Arboretem, 1995. From left to r ight: Song Kihuh, Min Pyong-Cal (Ferr isMi l ler) , John Cal lagher, Sunsuk, and the Chi l l ipo ajamoni.

JOHN CALLACHER

Wisfey Cardens, Surrey England, 2001 .From left to r ight: Kim Chyngun, MinPyong-Cal, John Cal laher, Yi Kyu-Hyon.

times since then and have triedto encourage many of thestudents at the arboretum togain further experience both inthe States and here in England,which I hope has been verybeneficial to Chollipo and hasalso glven me some wonderfulfriends.

Ferris,Yi I$ru-Hyon, who washis secret dU,and I traveledtogether quite extensively overthe years and we visited his latemother many times and hisaunt and, of course, his sisterand brother and their families.

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He was born on the 24Tle of December l gzr in West Pittstonwhere he graduated from high school in a%g. He then graduatedat Wilkes lJniversity in r g4a and was a Phi Beta Kuppa graduate ofBucknell Universi$,Lewisburg in 1943. After Japanese languageclasses at the Universily of Colorado, the US Nuyf commissionedhim to interrogate prisoners of war in Okinawa,Iapan duringWorld War Ir. At the end of the war, he was sent to Korea andparticipated in the surrender of the Japanese Ar*y. His Navalsenrice ended in 1946 and he returned to Korea in rg47, making ithis permanent home and later even becomi^g a Korean ctttzen,which was none too popular with the American authorities!Before retiri^g he was employed by the Bank of Korea for thirtyyears, senring as assistant to the United Nations advisor. He wasalso employed as a consultant director by several investmentcompanies.

In the course of taking his holidays at Mollip o, d seaside resort ontheYellow Sea, a fellow bridge player suggested he buy some land

Birr Cast le, Tour of l r ish Gardens, Apri lDennis Jones, Min Pyong-Cal.

2001. From Left to right, Earl of Rosse

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that was for sale further up the coast at Chollipo. This purchaseled to what is now known as the Chollipo Arboretum Foundation,a privately funded arboretum of r8o acres and an island of rzacres, known world wide for its 9,ooo plus varieties of plants.Extremely energetic and enthusiastic, he collected native plantsand imported vast numbers of plants from abroad. He publishedan Index Seminum for many years, which in turn resulted inmasses of seed being sent to him from all over the world. Manyarboreta and gardens owe their specimens of Korean plants to hisgenerosify.

At first, his main love was hollies and he built up a huge collectionof species and cultivars, which grow very well at Chollipo. On thesouthwest coast of Korea, Ferris spotted a potted plant which hadbeen drg up from the wild in the village of Wando. This turnedout to be a naturally occurring putative hybrid of Ilex cornuta x IIexintegra. The hybrids are variable and he visited Wando and ChindoIslands collecting seed and cuttings, which are well represented inthe holly collection at Chollipo. As a board member of the Ameri-can Holly Society, he organized for members several visits toKorea and Chollipo.

I don't know when he really got keen on magnolias, but certainlyhis interest was really stimulated after a grft of Gresham hybridsfrom the late John Allen Smith, another great plantsman fromMobile, Alabama. After that, every magnolia was sought after and,to date, Chollipo has one of the finest collections in Asia. Theclimate is so suitable, as after March there is never a frost. Untilthen, the plants are completely dormant during the winter. Manyseedlings have been grown and to date four have been named:

o M. sieboldii 'Ferris Miller i is a wild-collected seedling of M,sieboldii with pink tips to the tepals.

o M. 'Raspberry Fun,' a seedling of M.x loeberneri'LeonardMessel,'with extra tepals and a darker color.

o M. 'Yellow Sea,' a M. acuminata x M. denudata cross, whichactually overlooks theYellow Sea!

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o M. denudata x M. sprengeri'Dvva,' avery beautiful seedling givento Ferris by Karl Flinck. This plant has grown into a very hand-some tree and was name d M,'strawberries and Cream' justbefore he died.

For many years, Ferris was a very active member of the Board ofDirectors for the Mug olia Society. He was very interested that theSociely should be international in the true sense of the word. Hearranged a very successful tour of Korea, which was very wellsupported by young members of the Society, which is quiteunusual these days. He attended practically all of the Mug oliaSociely meetings and supported the first foreign tour of Devonand Cornwall and the joint rDS and Mug.olia Society Conferenceat Windsor in Aprrl 1996. His final tou(, when he was very ill, wasin Southern Irelan d, organized by Jim Gardiner April zoor. Hestayed with me before we set off and I must admit that when wearrived at Dublin airport, I wondered however we would cope.Typically,his strength of will took over and he did the whole tourand enjoyed every minute of it, never complaining about hisillness.

Weekends at Chollipo were always an event. With his businessand horticultural contacts, you were never sure who would bethere! After spendi.g the duy in the arboretum, as dusk fell drinkswere served on the verandah of one of the beautiful old Koreanhouses he had rescued from Seoul and rebuilt at the Arboretum.Watchi^g the sun go down, dark orange over theYellow Sea, wasunforgettable. There followed dinner serued in the Meeting Houseand a wealth of conversation of truly international flavor beforewe all wandered off into the dark to our beds.

ne particular eveni^g stands out in my memory. A veryeminent American professor who was a world authorilyon Asian affairs, was seated beside Ferris armed with

sheaves of paper and a clipboard. She was determined to inter-view Ferris for the story of his life and we were quite sure thatnothing was further from Ferris'mind. Unfortunately she forgotthe Korean custom of drinking soju, (Korean gin) from small cups,with each cup being refilled as soon as it was emptied from a"teapoti' being passed round the table. For some reason the

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tssuE 72

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Magnolia Tour of lr ish Cardens, 2001 . Min Pyong-Cal with Yi Kyu-Hyon, whocared for Min Pyong-Gal unti l his death.

teapot, started to circulate at a very fast rate. Impatiently, sheplped down her cup so that she could continue her interviewing,only to find it almost immediately refilled again. After a littlewhile, we noticed her notes were well and truly off the page andshe became remarkably silent for the rest of the evening! Ferriswas completely oblivious to all this and was very surprised whenshe left very early next mornirg after thrusti^g two copies of herlatest books into his hands and bidding him a very firm " goodbyeY'

There are many other memories that come to mind. Ferris was avery good pianist and had a piano at Chollipo.He was an experton the popular songs of the 2os and 3os and when only a few ofus were there, we would sing songs well into the night. One thingis certairy the world will be a little duller without those fun times,his keen sense of humor and interest in life. I will never forget hisencouragement and the friendship we shared. He most certainlywalked with kings, but never lost the common touch.

John T. Gallagher15 Augrst 2oo2

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ISSUE 72 MAGNOLIA

Those Ama zingMagnolia FruitsRichard B. Figlar

Unlike people who are interested in gro*irg nut trees like luglans orfruit trees such as Malus, those who cultivate magnolias are mainlyinterested in the flowers, not the fruits. Though some fruits of mag-nolia species are quite ornamental, I find the fruits to be most usefulfor studpng the differences (or similarities) between species orSoups of species of Mayolias. Thxonomists have long had a similarinterest in obsenring fruits of Mugroliaceae and they have often usedthose differences or perceiaed differences in fruit characters to justifytheir systems for classification of Magnoliaceae.

Wlren James E. Dandy codified his system of Magnoliaceae rn LgzT,he based much of his classification on fmit characters. This basisremained virtually unchanged for the rest of his life, for example(adapted from Dandy ry64):

A. Fruiting carpels dehiscent, not fleshy,

B. Carpels free, in fruit dehiscent along the dorsal suture,

C. Orrtrles 4 or more in each carpel ........................ .Mangligtia

C. Ormles z in each carpel (rarely 3-4 rnthe lower carpels) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mognol ia

B. Carpels concrescent at least at the base, in fruit circumscissileand woody, the upper portions falli.g away either singly orin irregular masses, the lower portions persistent withsuspended seeds; stipules adnate to thepet io le . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tf l \aumfl

A. Fruiting carpels indehiscent, concrescent to form afleshy slmca{pi etc .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .o... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aromadgndron

As new species were discovered, taxonomists often followed Dandy'sguidelines regardi.g fruit characters, which resulted in the creationof even more Magnoliaceae genera based on relatively minor varia-tions in the fruits. This list includ es Manglietiastrum (concrescent

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carpels, dehiscing completely by the ventral suture, partially via thedorsal suture of the carpels and partially along their line of junction),Tsoongiodendron (concrescent carpels, circumscissile, the upperportions falli^g away, or dehiscing via the dorsal suture), and otherssuch as Pachylarnax and Paramichelia.

Later (rg8S) Nooteboom concluded that,"the concrescence of thecaqpels has apparently developed independently in different lineagesof Magnoliaceae. . . therefore concrescence of carpels alone is not anacceptable character for delimitation of gen era." RecentV Kim et dI.,zoor;Azuma et a.I., zoot), molecular biologists also found thatDand/s concept of fruit characters seemed to have little to do withmolecular (oNe) affinities among Mugt oliaceae taxa. Thus, it ap-peared that Dandy and his followers may have been misguided withtheir perception of Magnoliaceae fruit anatomy, or they may havesimply failed to correctly obsenre the dehiscence process itself.

So, how does this dehiscence process work? In researching theliterature I have not yet found a suitable explanation of what actuallyoccurs when Moyolia fruits (including Thlauma) rtpen and dehisceseeds. Moreover, the terminolog;r used in describing fruiti.g charac-ters, that is, concrescent or connate vs. free carpels, ventral suture vs.basal attachment etc., is often misleading or inaccurate. Thus, thegoal for this project is to examine and describe in detail the processof dehiscence of a"Wical" Maffioliafruit and a"Wrcal" Talaumafruit. For a typical Magnolia fruit I selected Mognolia grandiflora andfor the talauma I use d Magnolia hodgsonii (also known as M. liliiferavar. oboaata).I will also attempt to describe my observations asprecisely and unambiguously as possible.

Pre-dehiscent (ripe) fruits of Magnolia grandiflora were gathered thispast autumn from my own plants at Pomona Ny, and similarly ripefruits of M, hodgsonii were generously provided by fellow Mug oliaSociety member, William T. Drysdale of Riverside California.

Magnolia grandifloraWhen the fruit was removed from the tree, its carpels were stilltightly fused together and the individual caqpels had not yet begunto split to release seeds. This fusion between the carpels (along theirline of junction) is often referred to as "concrescence" or "connation."(Note: Contrary to Dandy's obsenrations, concrescent carpels occurin all Mug.oliaceae lineages except in most species of subgenus

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Michelia where the carpels are free (not fused) throughout theirdevelopment.) Also, the outer (dorsal) part of the carpels-the tissuebetween the hollow carpel pocket that contains the seeds and theouter dorsal wall-is moderately fleshy, or about as firm as an apple.This tissue is called the mesocarp.In M. grandiflora the mesocarp isrelatively thin, but in some species, especially M, macrophylla, themesocarp can be verythick, up to o.1in (r cm) (see Figure r).

ithin a few days the carpels begin to separate. With apocketknife I removed one of these carpels for furtherobseryation. On the outside surface of the carpel sidewall

is an odd textured surface that looks something like hzard skin. Thistesselate surface represents the footprint of where the adjacentcarpels had previously been fused to it (see Figure z).

At about the same time as the carpels begin to separate, they alsobegin to split along the longitudinal suture. The part of this longitudi-nal suture (or line of dehiscence) that runs from the stylar beaksinward toward the axis of the fruit is defined as the aentral suture.The part that goes from the stylar beak down across the dorsal face,then finally inward to meet the axis, is called the dorsal suture. Thebase of the carpel is adnate (attached) to the axis of the fruit. Some-times taxonomists mistakenly refer to this attachment as the ventralsuture.

In some carpels, dehiscence is initiated along the ventral suture, thenit proceeds to split along the dorsal suture (Figure 3). In other carpelsthe splitting begns along the dorsal suture, then may or may notpropagate completely through the ventral suture. Eventually carpelmovements cease and the seeds are presented hanging via funicularthreads from each carpel.

This dehiscence process seems to be facilitate d, if not completelycontrolled, by the dryn.g of the carpel tissues and the degree of theresultant shrinkage. Since the mesocarp is initially relatively fleshy, itshrinks to a greater degee than the thinner laminar carpel sidewalls.Thus, as the dttr.g continues, more free space is made availablebetween the carpels. This in turn allows the splitting carpels to bend(flare) outward without obstruction until the carpel is completelyopen and presenting the seeds. Occasionally, this process is impededslightly by an adjacent carpel. In those cases, the opening can still besufficient for the seed to be presented, however, the split may nothave propagated through the entire ventral suture. For the same

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reason, in other cases, the ventral suture may be entirely open, whilethe dorsal suture may only be partially split.

Finally, the seeds have fallen away and the drtr.g movements of thetissues have come to rest. The fruit has become a stiff woody rem-nant of what now appears to consist of free open carpels that remainattached to an axis.

Magnolia hodgsonii

Initially the M. hodgsonii fruit glves the same visual impression as thepreviously described M.gandiflora fruit except for the conspicuouslenticels on the skin (exocarD of the fruit. The caqpels are connateand no splitting was detected along the longitudinal sutures. How-ever, upon handling the fruits, it is immediately apparent that themesocarp is quite woody and hard (Figure 4).

Within a few days most of the caqpels begin to separate from eachother but not as much as rn M, grandiflora. Moreover, there is nonoticeable splitting along the longitudinal suture.Thereafter, thefruits begin to"fall apart"circumscissile, such that all but the adnatebases of the indMdual caqpels seemingly break off ,leaving thefamiliar seeds suspended by their funicular threads from the carpelbases (see Figure 5). Most of these caqpel pieces fall awayindividually.

Looking more closely at the anatomy of the drtr.g (still dehisci.g)fruit, it is plain to see that the caqpels that are still attached to thefruit are at least temporarily locked in place, their mesocalps unableto shrink further, while other tissues within the fruit (carpelsidewalls, axis, etc.) have experienced greater shrinkage. It appearsthat since the unyielding mesocarp can no longer shrink at the samerate as the other tissues, the relatively thin caqpel sidewalls becometensile stressed and weakened, leading to their eventual breakage attheir weakest point near the caqpel bases. Thus, the carpel pieces fallaway.

\Mhen I examined the fallen carpel pieces closely, it was evident thatin each case the ventral suture had started to split from near thestylar beak to its former attachment near the base. SimilarIy, thebottom part of the dorsal suture had partially split along its inwardseam near its attachment to the base. However, this longitudinalsplitting was unable to continue to propagate through the dorsal

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Figure 1Fruit cross section of M. macrophylla( lef t ) showing thick 0.4 in (10 cm)mesocarp compared to the relativelythin mesocarp of M. grandiflora (right).

Figure 2"Backwards" dehiscent carpels of M.hodgsonii (left) and M. grandiflora(r ight).

MAGNOLIA

face, undoubtedly due to theresistance afforded by the thickwoody mesoc arp.

As these individual piecescontinued to dry, the carpelsidewalls began to flare outwardat the openin& just as they dorn M, grandiflora, except here itglves the visual impression ofb eing dehiscent "backw ards ."(Interestingly, if nearly ripecarpels of M, grandiflora areforcibly removed from the axisbefore they are glven a chanceto longitudinally dehisce, theytoo will dry and flare outward atthe base just as the Talaumacarpels (see Figure z).) Overall,the anatomy of the fruit of M,hodgsonii ts still quite the sameas in M.grandiflora. Even thetesselate surface of the outerpart of the carpel sidewall isclearly evident just as it is on thecarpels of M. yondiflora,

Discussion

From this experiment it is nowclear to me that the Thlaumatype of dehiscence is essentiallythe same process as the Magno-Iia lype. The process is initiatedwhen the fruit's tissues begin todry out and shrink, causingvarynng degees of carpel sepa-ration and longitudinal splitting.This separation and splittingmay continue uninterrupted torelease the seeds (via the longi-tudinal suture), or it may be

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Figure 3Fruits of M. acuminata showinginitiation of carpel separation anddehiscence along the ventral suture andpartial through the dorsal suture.

ssur 72

interrupted but still facilitate thebreaking away of the carPel Partsto release the seeds. The morewoody and/or thick the meso-carp, the more likelY that thisseparation/splitting process getsinterrupted or imPeded.

This also may exPlain whY bothkinds of dehiscence can occur insome Mag oliaceae taxa such astn Magnolia cylindrica,In M.cylindrica, the mesocarP isslightly woody and noticeablYthicker than in fruits of otherYulania species. Here, somecarpels may separate and sPlitlongitudinally with little or nointerruption, while in others, thesplitting is impeded and thecarpel parts break away as intypical Talauma. Still, some

carpels dehisceboth ways simul-taneously. Evi-dently, in M.cylindrica theresistance of themesocarp tosplitting andseparating ismore or less inbalance with the

z tensile strength ofg the carpel walls.F As a result, some

F carpels break^ awayThlauma-

like while others dehisce longi-

tudinally.

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Figure 4Ripe, pre-dehiscent fruits of M.hodgsonii (left four) and M. grandiflora(right).

ISSUE 72

Except for Spongberg GggS),most taxonomists were probablyunaware of the nature of thefruits of M. cylindrica. Otherwise,some may have attempted todescribe it as a new genus as hadbeen done with Manglietiastrum,T s o o ngi o den dr on, P ar ami ch eli a,Ar oma dendr on, and P achy I arn ax .Herbarium specimens of fruits ofmost of these taxa show that ntheir fruit form and dehiscence *can easily be explained by slight ;variations in degee of lignifica- ition and thickness of the meso-

n

carp of the carpels. Figure 5

In James Canright's 196o analy- Dehiscing fruits of M. hodgsonii.

sis, rhe comparitiw morphotogy ::',.j;?""1fi:t:ii ::H'.'^:X'.?:;:::and relationships of the Mognoli-aceae. IIL Carpels, he states thatwhile"the occurrence of sclereids (lignification) in the gynoecia (ofMogrolia) was found to be the exception, rather than the rule. . . thelack (or existence) of sclereids is not a reliable generic characterThis study seems to affirm Cartright's statement, while it also ex-poses some flaws in Dandy" observations regardi^g fruits and theirdehiscence. Like many taxonomists of his time, Dandy had perhapsrelied too much on his observations of dried fruits in the herbarium.This probably accounts for his categonzlngthe carpels in Moyolia,Manglietia and Alcimandra as free rather than concrescent, since thedegraded remains of fruits in the herbarium can be perceived asfinally consisting of "free" carpels. Evidently, he must have over-looked the tesselate surfaces on the sides of the carpels as well, sincethis would have provided ample evidence of carpel concrescence.

It's also unclear why Dandy described Aromadendron frutts as being

fleshy and indehiscent.I have seen dried fruits of Magnolia(Aromadendron) elegans at the NyBG herbarium, and the woodyremnants would suggest that the ripe carpels had not been fleshyand indehiscent. Others who have examined freshly collected ripeM. elegans fruits have found them to be woody and lenticellate(Keng, a978) as well as dehiscent, similar to M, hodgsonii.

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MACNOLIA ISSUE 7 2

The Gallery: A )election of ?hotographo

?y,?: i t ! t .4!u Xt.T??' : -* * . : i v ,s - ,h

t rww#s#&; w#ff i i l f f iwr,r

This newhybrid (tenNatively named M,'Aurora') ts a reoult, of a crooomade in the mid 9Os bef,ween M.'?ink gurVrioe' and M,'Daybreak.'l\/1,'?ink SurVrioe' to a croo6 of M,'Galaxy' and Thll 1avaqe'o lvl.'Toro',while Auqie Kehr'e M,'Daybreak' is a crooo of M,'Woodoman' and aGresham Hybrid. (Auqie wae uncefi,ain about,lhe Vollen Varent, of M,'Oaybreakl buV with ite qlowinq ?ink color and the lvl, campbelliicharacf,erietics of its Vrodiqy,it is my belief thal M, veitchii may be Vafrof iIs genetric backqround.)

The maqnolia bloomed for the f irsf, t ime in mid-May of 2OO2, about, aweek laNer trhan either of i t o Varenbe. lt continued to bloom unli l the endof June, The flower has nine teVals and holds it,s uVriqhL, cuV-oha?edform unti l Ihe treVals fal l .The color is a deeVer Vinkthan either of i ts

Varenls, Thio magnolia has the color and shaVe of M, campbell i i and ishardy inf,o at least, Zone 5, M,'Aurora' has very good seed feftil ity andexl,remely good Vollen fe(bility. All flowero Vollinaled with Aurora Vollenformed huqe carVels, Who knows-nert year I may lry it on lvl, grandiflora,

The Viclure of lhe three maqnolias showo M,'?ink )urVrioe' on lhe Io?,the new hybrid on f,he \eft,, and l\1,'Daybreak' on the riqht,. The T,ree is slil l

quit e emall, but, a??earolo have the columnarqromDh habil of M,'Daybreak',

bud wood io very limited,butr f,wo nuroeries will beouVVl ied Nhis summerwith more ertensivedistrribution lo occurlat er,

Thoto7ra?he and textsubmitNed by OennioLedvina, Green Day,WlU9A

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The Gallery, cont,

Frank Galyon eubmil led Ihie Vhotoof himeelf ehown witrh hio hybrid, M.' F r ank' s V astrerVi e c e, '

l tr l, 'Frank's VasferViece' (lr l, x

eoulanqeana'DeeV TurVle Dream' x

ltrl, '?aul Cook') is a Lree with otronqaVical dominance and brancheewith a oemi-weeVing charact er. Theflower; are Nen t o 11 inches acro66and have eiqht, or nine NeValo.lndiv idual t eVals are f ive incheslonq and four inchee wide. The

out eide color of the NeVals ie verydeeV red VurVle, deeVer and morered r,han'DeeV TurVle Oream,' Frank

Vroduced this hybr id and namedand selecled iN in 1997. M.'Frank'sMast erViece' a??eared on the l ist ,of M aqn ol i a Cul t iv ar Keqiotrral ionein Maqnol ia, leeue 63 (Winf ,er

leeB),

The VhofoqraVh wao Naken byRobert, W. H endricks,

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Tour frtters...More about the M. 'Daybreak' mixture

I recently received a copy of Jim Gardiner's new book, Magnolias AGardener's Guide and found on page 69 a picture of. Magnolia'Daybreak.'I don't believe that this is the right tree.

In October r999,Dr.August E. Kehr put a message in Magnolia, theJournal of the Magnolia Society. It read that there has been a mixturein Magnolia'Daybreak.'

He explained that in ry93 that he had received a few plants of M.'Daybreak'from a tissue culture laboratory. He planted them andgrew them for observation and after a few years he started noticing abig difference in these trees. In t999,Dr. Kehr saw these trees bloomand the blooms were purple instead of pink. These were clearly notM.'Daybreak.'

I believe the picture in Jim Gardiner's book is the purple bloomingmixture that Dr. Kehr is talking about.

I have a tree of M.'Daybreak'in myyard and I know that it is the trueone, because I went to Dr. Kehr's place in Hendersonville, rtc andgot scion wood from the mothertree.

Dr. Kehr explained that the realM,'Daybreak'had a dull uppersurface on the leaves and thatthe false tree had shiny leavesand that the real one had onlyslightly pointed leaves where thefalse one had shaqp pointedleaves.

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tssuE 72 MAGNOLIA

My tree checked out to be the real Moyolia'Daybreak', so the photoaccompanFng this letter is a picture of the true M,'Daybreak.'

I noticed as I was taking the photos, that the flowers had a heavenlyfragrance and I will have to say that it is the best of the 2oo magnoliavarieties that we have.

Only the flowers that had advanced to where the stamens hadrecurved from their tight form and where ready to dehisce had thefragrance, so the ftagrance must be comi.g out of the stamens.

This photo was taken on Aprrl 28, 2oor; that is when Magnolia'Daybreak' blooms in middle Tennessee.

Thank you Dr. Kehr for creating such a wonderful tree.

T.try Pennington38Walling HillMcMinnville, rN 37rro

<,oa>#-v.t-

Olav Kallenberg of Norway took thisdramatic photo of the new Mark Juryhybr id, M. 'Black Tul ip. '

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MAGNOLIA ISSUE 72

May I have the envelope, pleas€...The winner of the 2OO2 D. Todd Gresham AwardThe D. Todd Gresham Award was established to recognize indMdu-als who have made extraordin ary contributions to the improvedculture, increased knowledge and promotion of magnolias, or whohave contributed outstanding service to the Mugrolia Society.

The process by which a recipient isAwards Committee Chairman,who is the immediate pastpresident of the Mug.oliaSociety, solicits nominationsfrom the membership. \Mhenproposing an individual it is thenominator's responsibility toprovide a summary of the quali-fications of the nominee, forconsideration by the committee.The chairman collects the nomi-nations and supporting materral,and distributes it to each com-mittee member. Each committeemember then communicates his/her recommendations to thechairm€rn, who compiles theresults and presents the award atthe annual meeti.g.This yeaLthe following individuals com-prised the Awards Committee:

selected is straightfonvard. The

Glenn Clark

Frank B. Galyon

Mark D. Haimes

Harriet Mahlke

Michael L. A. Robinson

Anita Figlar congratulating her husband,Richard as he accepts the 2002Cresham award.

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ISSUE 72 MAGNOLIA

When the 2ooz recipient joined the society, magnolias were merelyan avocational interest. His interest greatly increased from exposureto socief founder Joe McDaniel. In the early years, he made use ofvacations to seek out venerable specimens of Magnolia acuminataand M,yondiflora, and documented their existence in the pages ofthis journal. He became fascinated with the variation within thespecies of Mayolia, and also with the differences between thespecies and genera of the Magnoliaceae. As he investigated thetaxonomy of the Magr,oliaceae, he began to question what makes amagnolia a magnolia, and on what basis the other genera of Magno-liaceae are considered to be distinct from Mayolia. As his studybecame more serious, he corresponded with the leading magnoliataxonomists, to understand their reasoning.With further investiga-tion, he obsenred that the characteristics glven for keeping the genusMichelia dtstinct from Mryolia are not valid. He presented a paperon his conclusions at the Mug.oliaceae Symposium in Guan gzhou,China n i.gg8, and so contributed to a major revision in Magnoliataxonomy.

In recent years he has assisted researchers doing genetic analysis ofthe Mag.oliaceae for the purposes of taxonomy. Not satisfied withmerely learning about new species, he has been active in attempts tobring a number of these little-known species into cultivation in theWest for the purposes of science and the enjoynent of gardeners.

The recipient has senred in each of the major offices of the society.As a very active participant in the Internet'round robin,' he hasconsistently offered encouragement and sound advice to the noviceswho have submitted questions. Through this effort, he has beenlargely responsible for the continued success of the Magnolia List.

On March j,o, 2ooz,The D. Todd Gresham Award was presented toRichard B. Figlar. P

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MACNOLIAISSUE 72

complete list of winners of theD. Todd Gresham AwardPeriodically,

F..MlSnrolia Society presents the D. Todd GreshamAward to an individual who has mlde a significant contribution tothe develoPment, knowledge, or promotion of magnolias, or whohas provided outstandi.g ti*i.e. r'oilowing is a complete list of thewinners of the Gresham Award.

rgSr John M. Fo gg,Ir.Joseph C. McDaniel

;98z Sara Gladney

a983 Philip J. Sava ge ,Ir.L985 Harold Hopkins

1986 Wlliam DoddTom Dodd, Jr.

L98T Elizabeth JohnstoneNeil TlesederJulianWlliams

1988 Ken Durio

r98g Sir Peter Smithers

1992 Argust KehrCarl Ferris Miller

1993 Frank GaylonJoseph Hickman

L994 Karl Flinck

1995 Phelan BrightHurryHeineman

1996 Purry Narton

1998 Philippe de Spoelberch

2ooo John Allen Smith

2oo2 Richard B. Figlar

Z2

ISSUE 7 2 MACNOLIA

The Fate ol Magnolia grandiflora Seedlings inNorthern WisconsinMike Heim

LMng in the north woods of Wisconsin,I had always assumed thatattempting to grow the evergreen southern magnolia up hereamongst the balsam fir would be comparable to raising pineapples inAlaska-a goofy venture at best. However, several things that I'vesince learned have caused me to reevaluate this assumption.

Many years ago on our hone)rmoon trip to Missouri, my wife and Ifirst observed" to our visual and olfactory delight, a southern magno-lia in full, gorgeous bloom. Exquisite, to say the least. The tree,though, was growinginZone 5, which in this case caused it to sufferregular serious winter injury down to the snowline.The profuseflowers and glossy foliage were perfectly fine below this level wherethe tree had spread out vigorously to a considerable extent. Sincenorthern Wisconsin generally has reliable snow cover, I thought whynot try and grow this memorable species back home as a low shrub,protected from winter's temperature extremes and desiccation by aninsulating blanket of snow?

The best chance of success with this venture seemed to lie withobtaining the hardiest germplasm available. During this quest,I wasamazed to learn that certain Magnolia grandiflora trees had withstood-3o oF (-l+'C) on numerous occasions.Various old trees growing atthe Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio come to mind, alongwith a tree that grew about one huncired miles north of Chicago...until it was cut down by the new owners of the estate!

Through the generosity of Bob Lipka a very knowledgeable Magno-Iia grandiflora researcher in Pennsylvania, I obtained mixed seed oftwo trees from the Spring Grove Cemetery (#16 and #r9), along withseed from a cultivar known as M. 'Pocono. (M.'Pocono'has aninteresting history. A hunter found it growing wild in the PoconoMountains of Pennsylvania between rroo and rzoo feet in elevation.The seed was apparently deposited by a bird many yearsearlier.)

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MAGNOLIA tssuE 72

In the late spring of zoor,I planted out ro5 of the Spring Groveseedlings and zz of. M.'Pocono,'which had begun germinating inMarch. (The reason that there were far fewer of the M.'Pocono'seedlings was that while we were on vacation, fly lanrae destroyedmost of the seedlings in the flat while they were outdoors hardeningoff, however they virtually ignored the Spring Grove seedlings in thenext flat over.)

All of these first-year seedlings were planted in native mixed conifer-hardwood forest on an acidic, sandy loam, their preferred soil type(see photo). The whole area was previously fenced in to protect therhododendrons growing there from deer. Otherwise, the seedlingswere glven no extra protection whatsoever. They were basicallygrowing in the woods as "uiild" seedlings.Although to keep the tinyseedlings from being smothered, I did brush the fallen leaves off ofthem a couple of times.

In mid-April the snow cover melted off of the magnolias. On May r,2oo2,I performed my first evaluation, at which time 29% of theSpring Grove and 44% of the M.'Pocono'seedlings were in perfectshape. As of May 23, 2ooz, zzoh of the Spring Grove seedlings werein perfect condition, zo"/" evidenced some degree of foliar injury, and58% were either defoliated or perished. Of the M.'Pocono'seedlings,18% were perfect, 5"/" had foliar injury, and 77% were either defoli-ated or dead. The increase in mortality since the beginning of the

month could be attributed tonear record cold, culminatingwith z6 "F (-3 "C) on May zoth,since seedlings are known to bevery susceptible to frost damage.On the other hand, it couldsimply be the result of residualwinter injury. \A/hat this glves meare z7 plants which show prom-ise. Th.y are as fresh-looking inMuy as they were in September.

It is unfortunate that the prov-== enance of the parent trees'+ ancestors is unknown. However,

it has been reported that there isa very wide range of cold toler-

%

One of the M. grandiflora seedlingsgrowing well in leaf l i tter.

tssuE 72 MAGNOLIA

ance in seedlings from Florida trees. Thus , Lt's possible that myseedlings arent necessarily progeny of trees from the natural north-ern range limit of the species, which is below five-hundred feet inelevation throughout.

According to the usDA discussion of M. grandiflora @g5S),"Tempera-tures below 15 oF (9 'c) are rare in its range. A light freeze for 48hours will kill seed and seedlings, thus limiting the naturalrange."I'm not so sure about this generaltzed statement. The remarkabletolerance of some individuals to extremely low temperatures seemsto indicate adaptation to a much wider range during past geologicalepochs. It is curious that the species has not expanded its distribu-tion more during post-glacial times. Perhaps a combination of forestfires and browsirg pressure by deer have senred to check its advance.Certainly, birds must regularly be transporting seed to othennrisesuitable sites, as evidenced by the M,'Pocono'tree.

It will be quite interesting keeping track of the seedlings'progress,courtesy of natural selectiory particularly as they grow tall enough tobe exposed to the full brunt of a Zone 3 winter. ,e

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MACNOLIA ISSUE 72

Phyllotaxis in Magnolia FruitsRichard B. Figlar

The term phyllotaxis normally refers to the regularity of placement ofleaves around an axis (stem). Since parts of flowers, such as stamensand carpels, are actually derived from leaves, the term is applicableto them as well. For example, in fruits of Magnolia tripetala tt isrelatively easy to see that the carpels are arranged in two sets ofspirals, one set oriented in clockwise fashion, the other set counter-clockwise. With a marking pen, lines can be drawn along the mid-points of the carpel faces to reflect this phyllotactic arrangement (seeFigure r). Notice that one set of lines, or parastichies, is oriented in amore vertical spiral than the other set. For simplicity, I will refer tothe more vertical parastichies as columns, and the more horizontalones as rows. If we then count the number of rows and columns onthe fruit, we normally find 8 rows and 13 columns in fruits of M.tripetala.he same is usually true in fruits of M. obouAtA, M. gandi-

flora, and in fruits of many other subgenus Mayolia species. On theother hand, if we do the same with fruits of subgenus Yulania specieswe normally find five rows and eight columns. It turns out that thesephyllotactic carpel patterns in magnolia fruits are parts of the math-ematical sequence known as the Fibonacci series, such that eachnumber in the series is the sum of the precedi.g two numbers:

L, T, 2, 3, 5, 8,r3, 2T, 34.. . .

The Italian mathematician, Leonard Fibonacci, discovered thisfamous sequence during the twelfth cenfury.

Just as some magnolia flowers dont always produce the expectednumber of tepals, sometimes nature adds or subtracts a row orcolumn in a particular fruit. Studies have shown that most magnoliafruits show the Fibonacci pattern in their carpel arrangements about

75% of the time (Zagorska-Marek, Lgg5).

One interesting finding is that particular types of Fibonacci carpelpatterns seem to correlate to taxonomic affinities in Magnolia. Infruits of subgenus Yulania, the average pattern is 5:8 regardless of the

26

ISSUE 7 2 MACNOLIA

number of carpels. In fruits of subgenus Michelia the pattern is either

3:5 or 5:8. Here, too, in species with large numbers of carpels thepattern never shifts to the higher order 8: ry pattern.

On the other hand, in the lineages that comprise subgenus Mryolia(including the former genera Talauma and Manglietia, but excludi^gsection Maingola), species with approximately less than 30 carpelsper fruit, such as M. alrgtniAnA, are usually patterned at 5:8, whilespecies with more than 30 carpels, such as M. tripetala and M.grandiflora are patterned at 8: a3, and a few species with considerable

Figure 1Phyf lotact ic carpel pattern (B:1 3) for M. tr ipetala showing eight counterclockwise"rows" ( lef t ) and 13 clockwise "columns" (r ight) .

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MAGNOLIA ISSUE 7 2

numbers of carpels (approximately more than 15o) are arranged inan even higher order of Fibonacci pattern, a3:zl.This t3:zr. carpelpattern can be seen in fruits of Magnolia hernandezii (South America)and M. hodgsonii (sn Asia).

These generally higher order Fibonacci patterns, which increase inproportion to the number of carpels, probably account for the ovoidor ellipsoid fruit shapes that we normally find in fruits of subgenusMaingola (as defined above) since the fruits must expand outward toaccommodate the larger number of carpel positions brought aboutby the higher order pattern. On the other hand, the lower orderpatterns, which do not vary with respect to the number of carpels,seem to account for the mainly rylindrical shapes of the fruits of theYulania, Michelia, and Maingola groups. Interestingly, these affinitiessupport those found in recent molecular (oNe) studies.

Fibonacci phyllotactic patterns are found in leaf and fruit arrange-ments throughout the plant kingdoffi, including the patterr,r ofspines in pinecones and seed arrangements on the flower heads ofEchinacea spp.As fascinating as phyllotactic patterns are, scientistsare still not sure how this regularrry of arcangement is accomplished.

ReferenceZagorska-Marek 8., 1994. Phyllotaxic Diversity in Magnolia Flowers.

Acta Soc, Bot. Poloniae 63(z)' LL7-r37.

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ISSUE 72 MAGNOLIA

Selected Notes from the Mail Round RobinSubmitted over a period of time by Hany Heineman

Using Surflan to Induce Polyploidy

Both from Pat McCracken and Tony Avent I learned of a new method ofproducing polyploid plants using the common weed kil ler, Surflan Themethod is simple and very inexpensive. The steps are:

7-. Use seedlings 4-7 days after germination.

2. Wash soil from roots.

3. Soak plantlets in glass dish contain Surflan solution for 24 hours.

4. Transfer to cheesecloth and wash in water for 3-4 hours.

5. Plant in soil. Note the root t ips wil l be swollen and they wil l rot readilyat this stage.

6. Keep the plants cool, ideally at 68-75 degrees. Plants wil l make nogrowth for about two weeks. At this point, notice the thick growth ofnew leaves.

Results of success should range from 50 and 90 o/o Use a lower dose ongrasses and a higher dose on dayli l ies A high rate is 1:100 and a lowerrate is 1:200.

Pat McCracken used this method on Magnolia grandiflora seedlings withquite good success but he applied the Surflan to the young plants justas the true leaves were forming, hence no effect on the roots. I saw hisplants and can verify his success.

August Kehr

(printed posthumously)

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MAGNOLIA ISSUE 72

Research Grants AvailableThe Research Committee of the Mugnolia Society announces thatgrants for research on Mug.olias are available. The Grant Programexists to encourage and support research related to Moyolias andthe Mug oliaceae. Authors of successful proposals may be awardedas much as $z,ooo (us funds). Funds may be expended over a periodof one to three years, at the discretion of the recipient, except theycannot be used for institutional overhead. Grants are provided todeserving recipients with the understandi.g that research results willbe published in Mayolia,The Journal of the Mugnolia Society, anon-refereed publication. If you are unfamiliar with research pub-lished in the ]ournal, you may review back issues, which are availablein many horticulture libraries. Or, you can obtain a sample copy ofthe Journal from Roberta Hag€n, 6616 81" St, Cabin John, MD zo8r8.

Proposal Guidelines

All proposals must be received by November for consideration in thefollowing year. Proposals will be evaluated by the Mug olia Societyresearch committee, and awards will be based on the perceived valueof the research to the Societ/s members and the probability ofsuccessful accomplishment. The format for the proposals and sug-gested areas of research is available on the world wide web atwww.magnoliasociety.org. If you do not have Internet access, youcan contact Dick Figlar at the address glven below and request thatan application form be mailed to you.

Richard B. FiglarChairman of the Research Committee16+ Shady Grove RoadPickens SC 2967r

Phone: 864/ 4zo-2869email: magnoliacoco@aol. com

30

ISSLIE 7 2 MAGI\lOLIA

3 l

MACNOLIA ISSUE 72

qggcr QxshrEric Q*s{o

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nN Wcoocr qgof, Sprtgffi, A& 9 74 78 -969 I

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We offer over 350 varieties of grafted Magnolias.

Among these are some of the latest hybrid Magnolias and selectedclones of Magnolia species.

Our full list of Magnolias, Camelias and Wisterias is available on request.

Plants are dispatched as one- or two-year grafts and in accordance withimport regulations.

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OfficersPresidentJames CardinerThe Royal Horticulture Society'sGarden, WisleyWoking, Surrey CU23 6QB

Vice PresidentStephen SpongbergPolly Hi l l ArboretumPO Box 561West Tisbury, MA 02575

SecretaryRoberta Hagen66',16 91 " StCabin John, MD 20818

TreasurerHazel Tarpley5637 S Ryan StSeattle, WA 98178-2296

EditorPrudence Holl igerPO Box 2043lssaquah, WA 98027 -OO9"l

WebmasterDonald E. Kingdking4@gte.net

Standing Committee ChairsRegistered Corporate AgentJoseph W. Hickman

Research

UK Richard B. Figlar

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Awards and HonorsCharles Tubesing

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NominationsGordon Hagan (temporary chair)

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ryr t'+rn

i&E. ::,