Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha, was
discovered by William Bartram and named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, a friend
of his father John Bartram who was the Botanist to the King of England, and the
Altamaha River in southeast Georgia, along which it was found.The plant was easily noticed
by such an adept botanist William Bartram because it has large white blooms from late summer through fall even while the
leaves have changed color to reds and yellows after a frost.The entire population apparently occupied an area of
only a few acres and many plants were sent to the Bartram’s nursery near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
thus preserving the species since it has not been observed in the wild since
about 1797 or 1804, which was little more than 2 to less than 4 decades after discovery
depending on which set of references are used.Interestingly
they seem more adapted to the climate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
than coastal Georgia,
indicating the remnantpopulation failed to recover fromwhere the species was pushed
south by the last glaciation, besides where more could have been inundated during the sea level rise caused by the current
interglacial.There is one serious problem with growing this species around here due its
susceptibility to a soil borne fungal disease that likely lies dormant anywhere
cotton, Gossypiumhirsutum, was grown.As a precaution I would
dig much more than the rule of thumb $50 hole for a $10 plant, since any potentially infected soil would need to be replaced, but it is doubtful that a plant could even be found for only $10, besides the $50 hole being more of a figurative quality standard rather than an actual fee structure.
