Showy Elizabeth Magnolia is April Tree

Showy Elizabeth Magnolia is the April Tree of the Month

NLI’s Legacy Tree Program

NLI’s Legacy Tree Program is pleased to announce the April Tree of the Month is an Elizabeth Magnolia (Cucumbertree, Magnolia acuminata x Yulan Magnolia, Magnolia denudata). It is 48.4 feet tall, has an average crown spread of 33 feet with a circumference of 49.45 inches.

This Elizabeth Magnolia is “truly the glory of my spring garden” according to the nominator, Beth Parentice. This beloved tree grows in the backyard of Parentice’s home. “It’s the largest tree of this variety I’ve ever seen with magnificent 6-8 inch cup-shaped butter yellow flowers covering the entire tree in early to mid-spring,” said Beth. “It’s one of the first yellow-colored magnolias ever cultivated.”

Elizabeth Magnolia is a hybrid between a native tree, cucumber magnolia, and a non-native ornamental tree, Yulan Magnolia (Magnolia denudata) which is considered one of the first plants cultivated by humankind because of beautiful pure white flowers before it leaves out. Elizabeth Magnolia was a breakthrough with horticulturists hybridizing a “yellow” flowering magnolia that blooms before its leaves emerge – cucumber magnolia’s yellowish flowers are hidden among its leaves. Elizabeth’s flowers are warm soft yellow in cool weather yet creamy white in warm weather but do stand out and glow in the spring landscape. The tree was first hybridized by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and named for Elizabeth Sperber, an influential supporter. Any additional cultivars of Cucumbertree hybrids have since been introduced into the horticultural trade (plant nurseries).

This large (one of the first ones planted in our region) Elizabeth magnolia is a beacon in the neighborhood in spring as it stands out with its creamy yellowish flowers surrounded by the acid green of newly emerging deciduous trees and dark needles of evergreens. It is part of Rockford’s Edgewater neighborhood, which is a walkable neighborhood complete with sidewalks and houses close together, each with plants and gardens that reflect the diverse homeowners.

As some of the oldest flowering plants on Earth, Magnolia blossoms are mainly pollinated by beetles as they predated bees — but bees do collect the pollen now. Magnolia flowers were the beginning of plants’ ways of insuring cross-pollination so the female parts of the flower are receptive to pollen before the flowers open – beetles who had visited another open flower with pollen are able to squeeze into the bud and pollinate – once the flower opens, the pollen is ripe and available for the taking. Elizabeth magnolia produces no seeds as it is a sterile hybrid mule and all the developing fruits (that look like little gherkins according to this tree’s owner) soon drop. The ripening fruits look like cucumbers on its native parent so that’s how a cucumbertree gets its name.

Elizabeth Magnolia has most of the characteristics of its Illinois native Cucumbertree parentage, including very similar leaves that will host some key insects, including the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the Promethea Moth. “This is one of the favorite trees of our native woodpecker, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, as you can see by the many drill holes in the trunk of the tree,” said Alan Branhagen, Executive Director, Natural Land Institute. The Elizabeth Magnolia’s other parent is a native to Eastern Asia – and does not host any key native butterflies and moths.

Background Information:

Natural Land Institute launched the Legacy Tree Program in January 2024. Anyone may nominate a tree on private or public land from NLI’s 12 county region. To see monthly stories, for more information and a nomination form visit: https://www.naturalland.org/nlis-legacy-tree-program-january/ or call 815/964-6666. NLI, an accredited land trust, is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit land conservation organization based in Rockford, IL and has protected 19,000 acres of natural land in I llinois since 1958. NLI’s mission is to create an enduring legacy of natural land in northern Illinois for people, plants and animals. For more information and to donate visit: www.NaturalLand.org.