Cucumber magnolia tree in Guilford Township wins Big Tree Contest, Medina County Park District receives third consecutive win

GUILFORD TWP. — For the third consecutive year, a submission by the Medina County Park District won the Medina County Soil and Water Conservation District's Big Tree Contest. With its height of 116 feet, the cucumber magnolia tree's circumference measures 203 inches and has an average crown spread of 58 feet. The tree is located on private property within Guilford Township, owned by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The Medina County Soil and Water Conservation District's Big Tree Contest focuses on finding the biggest tree of a specific species each year. This year, the SWCD focused on the cucumber magnolia. "It's less known throughout the community, not a whole lot of people know it," Medina SWCD district technician Jim Smith said. "It's an easily overlooked species, so we're trying to bring a little bit more light to the different kinds of species that might get overlooked." Since the cucumber magnolia tree may be a bit unfamiliar to most Medina County residents, Smith said that the SWCD only received three submissions. Smith said all of the trees were quite impressive. "It's really neat to shed some light on these kinds of prehistoric giants," Smith said. According to the Big Tree Contest's information sheet, the cucumber magnolia tree is a large, round-topped tree with light brown, scaly bark. The tree's flower looks like a tulip and the immature fruit, which resembles a small cucumber, can be seen toward the crown with a greenish-yellow color in the summer. As the fruit matures and ripens, it turns red and releases red seeds. Medina SWCD District Manager Eric Hange said that in previous years, they have repeated the Big Tree Contest's chosen species with more recognizable tress to help encourage participation. Park District Land Steward Travis Morton said that he, along with members of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, had explored the property in the past and remembered seeing several large cucumber magnolia trees. Morton said that when it was time to submit the tree for the Big Tree Contest, it was an easy decision for him. "When they mentioned cucumber tree, we knew exactly the one to submit," he said. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.