The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group, a place where everyone is welcome to note the observations you have made of the natural world around you. Insects, weather, fish, climate, birds and/or flowers: all are worthy additions to the bucket. Ask questions if you have them and someone here may well have an answer. All we ask is that you let us know where you're located, as close as you're comfortable revealing.
When I bought my house in Macon, Georgia at the end of the last millenium, the yard contained the usual suspects of nonnative (and often invasive) plants: Chinese privet, English ivy, Asian wisteria, liriope (monkey grass), nandina, and others. In the time that I've lived here, I've replaced most of those suspects with plants that are native, or at least ones that are not invasive. The invasive plants do not like being replaced, and they grow back repeatedly. As long as there are seed sources in my neighbors' yards, I will never win the battle, but I can keep them at bay.
One interesting plant that I acquired is a small tree known as umbrella magnolia (Magnolia tripetala). It is a little known species that is irregularly distributed across the eastern and southern states. Unlike its well known evergreen cousin, the southern magnolia, this species is deciduous. Umbrella magnolia is usually is found near small creeks in hilly locations. You are not likely to find it growing in the flat coastal plains. With its large leaves and crooked form, it stands out from other trees and shrubs. Maximum height is about 45 feet, making it a tree of the understory, rather than a dominant of the canopy.
The leaves can reach 20 inches in length, and are usually clustered near the branch tips. It is a fine little tree, far more interesting than the standard fare that gets planted in most yards.
Another related species, bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla), sports leaves that can be as large as 3 feet in length! Take that, you bigleaf maples! Bigleaf magnolia has a native range and growth habit similar to that of umbrella magnolia. I had to do a bit of research in order to tell them apart.
Here are pictures of my backyard specimen, as it emerged from dormancy and spread out its new leaves.
Left: Here's how it looked on April 6, when warm days finally encouraged the bud to burst open. For reference, the tree is about three feet tall.
Below, two days later, April 8. As you can see from this image and the ones that follow, the leaves grew rapidly once the terminal bud opened.
Two days after that, April 10.
And another two days, April 12.
Looking at a single leaf, currently 13 inches long and still growing.
Below is an image of a young bigleaf magnolia. Notice the difference in the shape of the leaf in comparison to umbrella magnolia, especially where the leaf base joins the stem.
Links for more information and images:
wildflower.org
USDA
USDA link for bigleaf magnolia
That's the latest news from my back yard. The floor is open; give us the latest reports from your neck of the woods.