Andrè Michaux and the Discovery of Magnolia macrophylla in North Carolina

ABSTRACT
Magnolia macrophylla has been variously reported in the literature as having been discovered by André Michaux (1746-1802) in either North Carolina in 1789 or Tennessee in 1795 or perhaps by William Bartram (1739-1823) in Alabama in the 1770’s. The present study uses a variety of source materials, including primary sources, to sort out the conflicting geographic claims and proposes the location of Michaux’s North Carolina sites from new field studies.