Southern Magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora L.

mag-NOAL-ee-ah grand-ah-FLORE-ah

Magnoliaceae

Explanation of name:  Genus named for Pierre Magnol, 1638-1715, botanist at Montpellier (BA1, FNA).  Grandiflora means large-flowered.

Natural range:  Southern U.S., including Florida.  Indigenous to moist habitats, ravines, hammocks, wooded dunes and mesic woods (FNA)

Recognition:  Tree with large, glossy, dark green leaves having rusty pubescence beneath.  Terminal bud large, encased in a cone-shaped pubescent stipule.  Flowers bowl-sized and bowl-shaped.  White with numerous stamens and numerous pistils (forming a cone at the center).  Fruit made up of many separate units, each opening to allow a red seed to dangle on a thread.  Sweetbay Magnolia (M. virginiana) has the leaves almost hairless and whitish on the undersides. ‘Little Gem’ is a dwarf cultivar popular in local landscaping.

Landscape uses:  Magnificent flowering specimen tree. According to UFST375, roots can extend 4X the canopy diameter. Transplant in winter or spring. Loses leaves due to replacement in Spring, messy at that time.

Internet source:  http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/magnolia/grandiflora.htm