Meet the biggest leaf in North America

We met the leaf on a trail of the Providence Canyon. This is the largest simple leaf in North America. 

Giant leaf of Bigleaf Magnolia in Providence Canyon, Georgia - Photo: Still Gravity.
C standing with the mammoth-sized leaf at the canyon's bottom - License our images here.

The leaf is a product of the Bigleaf magnolia - scientific name: Magnolia macrophylla. "Macrophylla" in Latin means large leaves. These leaves grow over 30 inches - 76 centimeters. They look beautiful in the colors of the fall.

The Bigleaf magnolia was "discovered" in North Carolina in 1795. Today, the biggest tree survives in Kentucky with a high of 108 feet (32 meters) - the average size is 40 (12 meters).

Bigleaf magnolia tree in the Providence Canyon of Georgia - Photo: Still Gravity.
The Bigleaf magnolia tree in the Providence Canyon. 

These magnolias are bee killers because their flowers are traps for the insects. A wax or secretion makes the bees lethargic. On a more positive side, the Cherokees used the bark of the tree as analgesic - it's said that a warm decoction held in the mouth works for toothache, but we haven't tried.

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