Franklin Tree (Franklinia)

Franklinia alatamaha Origin: Altamaha River, Georgia (via PA & NJ) Improvement status: Wild Seeds per packet: ~10 BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial By an unlikely set of circumstances, Philadelphia is the epicenter of cultivation of this gorgeous tree that happens to be extinct in the wild. It can be found in front yards of suburban homes, as specimen trees outside museums, in arboreta, on university campuses, and in public parks. It is something of a mascot for Bartram's Garden, the historic home and botanical garden of John Bartram, botanist to the King of England before the American Revolution, and his son and successor William.  Here's the story: Famed Philadelphia botanist John Bartram found a small population of this tree (which somewhat resembles a camellia or magnolia, but blooms in August or September) growing along the Altamaha River in coastal Georgia, north of the city of Brunswick, in 1765. His son William returned to the same spot on mult