Louisiana Plant ID | Gordonia lasianthus (loblolly bay)

FAMILY: THEACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: holly bay, loblollybay gordonia

LEAVES: simple; alternate; thick and leathery

FLOWER: perfect, solitary; axillary to close-set leaves on the current year's twigs

FRUIT: hard, woody, five-valved capsule; approximately 0.6 inches long; each valve contains 4 to 8 flat, winged seeds

TWIGS:

BARK: mature bark: rough, thin; interlaced with flat-topped ridges, separated by narrow furrows

FORM: medium-sized tree, or shrub; evergreen; grows up to 65 feet; narrow conical to columnar crown

HABITAT: southern floodplain forest; with southern mixed hardwoods: oak-pine-cypress-gum

WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region

RANGE: continuously along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal plains from North Carolina to the Florida panhandle

USES:

Best Recognition Features:

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