Magnolia tripetala

This North American magnolia gets one of its names from the way the large leaves form umbrella-shaped bunches at the ends of the shoots. It has become known in Finland as a result of Arboretum Mustila’s seed collecting expeditions. There are now a number of plants in the country which have passed the seedling stage and are young trees. Perhaps the best are those growing against the wall of Helsinki’s Vanha Kirkko (Old Church), despite the fact that they have been wrongly named cucumber trees (M. acuminata).