Magnolia macrophylla, the bigleaf magnolia, is a deciduous magnolia native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. This species boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America. Classification Magnolia macrophylla has three subspecies; some botanists treat these plants as three separate species: Magnolia macrophylla subsp. macrophylla. Bigleaf magnolia. Southeastern United States. Secure. Tree to 20 m; leaves 50–90 cm long, fruit 4–10 cm long with more than 50 carpels. Magnolia macrophylla subsp. ashei (Wetherby) Spongberg. Ashe magnolia. Northwest Florida. Shrub or small tree to 12 m; leaves 25–60 cm long, fruit 4–5 cm long with less than 50 carpels. Considered by some botanists to be a distinct species, Magnolia ashei. Magnolia macrophylla subsp. dealbata (Zuccarini) J. D. Tobe. Mexican bigleaf magnolia, Cloudforest magnolia, or eloxochitl. Mexico (Hidalgo to Oaxaca and Veracruz, in cloud forests). Tree to 20 m; leaves 30–60 cm long, fruit 8–15 cm long with more than 70 carpels. Considered by some botanists to be a distinct species, Magnolia dealbata. Description The bigleaf magnolia is a medium-sized understory tree 15–20 m tall. This species is distinguished from other magnolias by the large leaf size, 25–80 cm long and 11–30 cm broad. The largest leaf to be reported by a credible source is 3 ft 8 in (110 centimeters) in length. in addition to a six inch (15 centimeter) petiole. The leaf's width can be up to eighteen inches (45 centimeters). The tree's branches often bend under the weight of this heavy foliage. The flowers are typically six or nine-petaled (two or three whorls of three petals each, the larger ones with a dime-sized purple blotch at the base). The flower has as many as 580 stamens and is typically about sixteen inches (41 centimeters) wide, although there have been specimens as large as 21.5 inches (55 centimeters) in width. It is the largest temperate (non-tropical) flower in the world. This, like all Magnolias, is beetle pollinated. The fruit is a cone-like cluster of achenes. Bee Mortality At the Arnold Arboretum, dead bees have been observed inside Bigleaf magnolia flowers. Distribution and habitat Bigleaf magnolia is found in rich mesic woods; any disturbance that lets more light reach the ground is beneficial to the establishment of bigleaf magnolia, but despite its relatively fast growth-rate when stimulated by more light, other understory and canopy trees/seedlings are usually able to outgrow and out-compete