Magnolia virginiana L.

Yellow magnolia, sweetbay, sweetbay magnolia, magnolia

About plant names...

This North American native is found in the southeast and along the east coast of the United States. Trees found north of Long Island NY, or in areas of the country other than those shown on the range map, were probably planted, not wild.

Identification: In the northern end of its range, this magnolia is often a multi-stemmed shrub 10-60' (3-18 m) tall, which loses its leaves in the winter ("deciduous"). In the south, it tends to be a single-trunked tree up to 40-100' (12-30 m) tall, and it is an evergreen. Leaves are alternate, in the shape of pointed ovals, with smooth edges, 2-4½" (6-12 cm) long × 1-1¾" (3-5 cm). Leaves are green on top, whitish-gray below. Bark is smooth and gray. Cup-shaped cream-colored flowers have a pleasant vanilla-lemon scent, and are 2-4" (5-10 cm) in diameter. Their petals are actually tepals. Fruiting "cones" are up to 2" (5 cm) long, filled with bright red seeds ⅛-¼" (6-9 mm) long. The closely-packed seeds are irregularly shaped, a bit like kernels of corn.

Online References:

Www.carolinanature.com

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Wikipedia

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

The Ohio State University PLANTFacts database

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Plants.ces.ncsu.edu

The USDA Forest Service's Silvics of North America site

This is yellower than I would expect, but I attribute that to flower age. · 4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

7/3/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

5/16/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Action, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 12 cm)

6/13/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 7 × 6" (17 × 14 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 17 cm)

4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

6/13/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

Magnolia virginiana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Jul 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

6/13/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

9/7/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 2½" (10 × 7 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

9/7/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (14 × 9.9 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

5/16/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Action, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 28 × 21" (71 × 53 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 6" (14 × 15 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

4/24/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.5 cm)

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

Range: Zones 5-9:

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