I am looking for people who live near the native ranges of Magnolia macrophylla who may be interested in looking for particularly large leafed species. I am interested in the possibility to find and propagate specimens that have exceptionally large leafs.

I have recently gained an interest in Magnolia macrophylla (Bigleaf Magnolia).
It is an interesting plant in that it has very large simple leaves (I believe the larges simple leaves for a native US tree) and can grow in much of Michigan where I live. Because my interest is in its large leaves, I am wondering if one could select a tree from the wild that has exceptional large leaves (or at least at the maximum range for natural leaf size) and collect seeds or cuttings from the tree. I am not sure about the feasibility of that, but it might be worth doing?

If anyone knows if it is a good or bad idea, or might live in the native ranges I would be interested to hear thoughts on it.

I am in NJ/Zone 7 and I can tell you I do not see this tree typically planted in suburbia, ever. Partly, it may be from the annual chore of raking up those big leaves. I have seen them planted in botanical gardens in local zones 6 and 7, and what I notice is that they are often almost an understory species amongst other tree species. Guessing these sites are somewhat more protected from wind and the strongest sun. From the little research I did, it seems that they can be a bit temperamental. I remember the first time I ever saw one, they are extremely tropical looking. If you like Magnolias, you should consider Magnolia virginiana. They are hardy into Zone 5 and their flowers are very, very aromatic.