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| Photo
by Renee Brecht |
Britton and Brown. See
credits below. |
| Botanical name: |
Magnolia virginiana L. |
| Common
name: |
Sweetbay magnolia; Swamp magnolia
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| Synonomy: |
|
Magnolia virginiana L. var. australis Sarg.
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|
| Magnolia virginiana L. var. parva Ashe |
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| Group: |
Dicot
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| Family: |
Magnoliaceae |
| Growth
Type: |
Tree/shrub
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| Duration: |
Perennial
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| Plant
height: |
10' - 60'
|
| Foliage: |
3 to 5" light gray green foliage;
underside of leaf is blue-white to silvery. Alternate, simple, narrow elliptical, 3 to 5 inches long, entire margin. Often has multiple trunks. Leaves are semi-evergreen; in the south they are evergreen.
|
| Flower: |
2
to 3" creamy white flowers with lemon scent from late spring to late
summer; bright red seeds. Flowers late May to early July; fruits early
August into October.
|
| Habitat: |
Wet woods and margins of swamps
|
| Range in
New Jersey: |
Common in swampy thickets
throughout our region; most abundant in the Pine barrens, but also
found in other districts as well.
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| Heritage ranking if any: |
n/a
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| Distribution |
|
| Misc.: |
USDA
lists as FACW+; i.e., Usually occurs in wetlands (estimated probability 67%-99%),
but occasionally found in non-wetlands.
Witmer Stone, 1910, writes: "Unlike most of the cultivated magnolias,
it is a late bloomer, the flowers appearing in June when the leaves are
fully developed. At that season the atmosphere of the Pine Barren
swamps is heavy with the perfume of the Magnolia, and we recognize its
presence long before we detect the creamy cup-shaped flowers nestling
among the shining leaves. As the wind stirs the foliage, the glaucous
under surfaces are turned up and show conspicuously against the general
green tone of the swamp vegetation, and later on the bright red seeds
bursting forth from the cone-like receptacle, or hanging from it by
slender threads, make the Magnolia equally conspicuous.
"Unfortunately Magnolia flowers have a market value, and the curbstone
flower-venders of Philadelphia ruthlessly strip them from the trees,
often breaking the latter to sujch an extent as to permanently ruin
them. To become saleable it seems that the leaves must be plucked off
and the flowers tied closely together in a compact mass, some of the
leaves being then fastened around the outside in a sort of halo, this
'artistic' arrangement proving more satisfactory to both buyer and
seller than that which nature found desirable. A similar arrangement is
seen in the bunches of Arbutus offered for sale earlier in the season,
some of which are further embellished with a head of Helonias as a
centerpiece."
Sweetbay is also a favorite food of deer. Deer browse
the leaves and twigs all year. The seeds are a favorite food of gray squirrels and are
eaten to a lesser extent by white-footed mice, wild turkey,
quail, and songbirds.
In 1688, Magnolia virginiana was the first magnolia introduced to Europe, though Magnolias also
grew iin Asia. Taxonomists named magnolias in memory of Pierre Magnol,
a professor of botany and medicine and director of the the botanic
garden at Montpellier, France, in the early 18th century.
The twigs and leaves were used in a decoction for fevers and colds.
Magnolia, Named for Pierre Magnol, 17th century French botanist; virginiana, of or from Virginia.
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