OIKOS Tree Crops used to offer several deciduous magnolias, including cukes - it's where I got mine; if I recall correctly, it's a seedling of the MI state champion. They'll be small 1-2 yr plants, grown in paper pots, and relatively inexpensive - but they grow well.

These are taken. Thanks to everyone who responded. - Bev

It's a magnolia. No other genus has fruiting bodies like that. There's a subspecies of cucumber tree, M. acuminata v. subcordata, that has smaller leaves than the typical species. Perhaps that's what you've got. The leaf underside of this variety, according to Dirr, should be covered with matted short hairs and the upperside lustrous dark green about 4-6" long and 1 1/2 to 3 1/2" wide. Stems should also be a bit fuzzy. The fruit in your pic looks much like cucumber tree, too. If you can get to the location of this tree in mid-May or so, you ought to find blooms of yellow, an unusual hue in magnolias, assuming it's M. acuminata v. subcordata. Soeur

The only reason I can think of for a grafted magnolia (if it is one) to have such a non-specific label is that somewhere along the production line labels were lost or mixed up and generic "yellow magnolias" were offered at a bargain price to retail outlets. More importantly, the assertion above that yellow magnolias are "weak plants" and unsuitable for Z5 because they suffer from something called being "far out on the genetic scale" is simply not true. There are very large specimens of Elizabeth and Butterflies at the U. of ME trial gardens in Z5a which periodically experiences Z4 lows. Newer yellow hybrids are also doing well there and in many other Z5 locations. These include Golden Gift, Sunsation, Miss Honey Bee, Judy Zuk and Yellow Bird. Yellow Bird in particular seems well adapted to cold conditions because of its hardiness and late bloom period which avoids most spring frosts. Planting in places not subject to strong winds is helpful for all magnolias as is adequate soil preparation and close attention to watering in the first few years. It would be a shame if gardeners avoided these lovely trees because of a mistaken notion that they cannot be grown in Z5.