sweetbay magnolia
Magnolia virginiana L.
click thumbnail to enlarge
Form & Habitat
sweetbay form and habitat sweetbay form and habitat
Leaves
sweetbay leaves sweetbay leaves sweetbay leaves sweetbay leaves sweetbay leaves (underside)
Twigs
sweetbay twigs sweetbay twigs
Bark
sweetbay bark
Flowers
sweetbay flower sweetbay flower sweetbay flower sweetbay flower sweetbay flower sweetbay flower
Fruit
sweetbay fruit sweetbay fruit sweetbay fruit sweetbay fruit sweetbay fruit and seeds sweetbay fruit and seeds
  • FAMILY: MAGNOLIACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: sweetbay, whitebay
  • LEAVES: evergreen in Deep South, alternate, simple; blades elliptical, 5-8” long, white below, aromatic when crushed
  • FLOWER: white, typical magnolia-like, 2-3” diameter; fragrant; flowering April to June
  • FRUIT: aggregate of follicles, ellipsoidal and cone-like, to ca. 2” long; seeds red
  • TWIGS: slender, bright green early, becoming reddish-brown after first year; circular stipular scars present (as in other Magnoliaceae); pith diaphragmed
  • BARK: thin, gray, irregularly furrowed on older trees
  • FORM: medium-sized tree, to ca. 70’ tall and 3’ dbh; trees typically have many basal sprouts/suckers
  • HABITAT: baygalls and wooded seeps, small stream bottoms in piney hills, fire-suppressed bogs and wet flatwoods; absent from Mississippi and Red River floodplains
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains [USGS Range Map]
  • USES: of little timber importance, when harvested used for furniture, veneer, paneling, cabinets; ornamental readily available in nursery trade
    • Best Recognition Features:
    1. species typical of baygalls and small seeps oalong streams on old coastal plain landscapes
    2. tree with smooth gray bark, typically with many basal sprouts/suckers
    3. elliptic-shaped persistent leaves that are white beneath
    LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources

    School of Renewable Natural Reources    		 Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours
    Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director | creid4@lsu.edu
    LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources
    LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA
    © 2003-2020

    website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu
    page revised: 15-Jan-2020 4:11 PM  msb    		 LSU AgCenter

    LSU AgCenter
    Provide Website Feedback   |  Accessibility Statement