(11/08) If someone were asked to name the most famous or influential Pennsylvanian in American history, the name Benjamin Franklin would probably come to mind. For someone who has studied colonial or horticultural history in the same state, the name John Bartram could possibly come to mind. These two men are intertwined as contemporaries, friends, founders of the American Philosophical Society, and scientists, as well as by a tree. A tree that was discovered by John Bartram and subsequently named after Franklin.

John Bartram was born in Darby (near Philadelphia) on March 23, 1699. Educated only in the local school, he was interested in plants. As an adult, he dedicated a small plot on his farm to his favorite ones. Later, he developed this interest into a nursery business, cultivating and shipping North American native plants and seeds to Europe, which had a fascination with this continent. Consequently, he traveled throughout the colonies to collect and study plants, later cultivating them. In addition, he traveled with his son William Bartram, who became a botanist and an illustrator.

In 1765, this pair was exploring southeastern Georgia when they observed a distinctive tree growing on the bank of the Altamaha River near Fort Barrington in an area covering 2-3 acres. John Bartram described it as "we mised our way & fell 4 mile below fort barrington where we lodged this night this day we found severall very curious shrubs one bearing beautiful good fruite." The identity of this shrub is somewhat obscure. However, according to Joel T. Frye in an article entitled "Franklinia Alatamaha, A History of That ‘Very Curious’ Shrub" dated Winter 2000, the word, "curious…" means "rare, valuable, beautiful, and scientifically interesting. ‘Very curious’ emphasizes the importance of the discovery." Later, William Bartram wrote that either he or his father "could form no opinion to what class or tribe it belonged."

In 1773, William Bartram returned to the same location in Georgia and described it in his Travels, "On drawing near the fort I was greatly delighted at the appearance of two beautiful shrubs in all their blooming graces. One of them appeared to be a species of Gordonia, but the flowers are larger, and more fragrant than those of the Gordonia." In 1776, he again returned to the area and collected seeds from these trees, which were raised on his father’s property. In addition, he later sent seedlings to Europe.

One of them was examined by Dr. Daniel Solander, a botanist in England. He informed William Bartram that the tree was a unique genus. Therefore, the tree was named Franklinia alatamaha by William Bartram after Benjamin Franklin, who was a family friend. Unfortunately, this name was not accepted in Europe, where botanists named most of Bartram’s newly discovered American plants. In this case, the name Gordonia pubescens selected. However, in 1889, C. S. Sargent, an American botanist and the first director of the Arnold Arboretum, named it Gordonia altamaha, which lasted until 1925, when the name Franklinia alatamaha became the officially accepted scientific name. However, in England, botanists referred to it by its original name, Gordonia pubescens.

The decision to collect seeds in 1776 was fortuitous. In 1791, William Bartram wrote, "We never saw it any other place, nor have I ever seen it growing wild, in all my travels, from Pennsylvania to Point Coupe, on the banks of the Mississippi." Within decades of its discovery, the tree could no longer be located in the wild. Moses Marshall, a botanist and doctor living in Chester County, Pennsylvania, visited the grove on the in 1790, making the last confirmed sighting of the Franklinia tree in the wild. All extant Franklinia trees derive from these seeds. The earliest cultivation of it began in 1774, according to British gardening records.

However, reintroduction into its native region has proven difficult due to the presence of Phytophthora cinnamomic, a plant pathogen in the Southeastern United States that causes root rot. To which the Franklinia tree is extremely susceptible and to which it has no natural resistance. The reason for its disappearance is uncertain. One theory proposes that an unknown cotton fungus invaded the river valleys after cotton plantations became dominant in Georgia. Specifically, as the land was cleared for cotton plantations, a pathogen was carried downstream to the trees by the soil eroding from agriculture.

Another theory believes that the cause was a combination of natural disasters, such as fire and flood, and the influence of humans. A third idea suggests that climate oscillations, which favored the creation of grasslands and open vegetation, during the Pleistocene epoch (2.58 million to 11,700 years ago), caused its demise, because of an inability to withstand climate change during the Ice Ages. Finally, perhaps, a single colony of trees did not possess enough genetic diversity to survive weather changes or pathogens.

In 1998, Bartram’s Garden conducted a survey to document the existing Franklinia trees in celebration of the 300th anniversary of John Bartram’s birth. According to the newsletter of the Arnold Arboretum, Winter 2000, the goal of the census was not only to count and locate existing trees, but to determine the best growing conditions for them. Since they exist only as cultivated specimens, the hope of the census was to encourage individuals to plant them.

To see known trees on the East Coast, please visit Strawberry Hill in Adams County, Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia and Arnold Arboretum in Boston, which has the two of the largest known trees, which also are the oldest trees with a documented origin. To find a tree for planting, patronize local native plant sales or the variety of nurseries on the Internet. With its white summer flowers and autumn red foliage, the Franklinia tree is a unique continuation of botanical and American history and a specimen to be added to any garden.

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