FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Note stipular scar encircling twig, characteristic of members of the Magnolia family. Long terminal bud is distinctive.
Synonym(s): Magnolia virginiana var. parva, Magnolia virginiana var. australis
Description: Evergreen or semi-evergreen tree or shrub to 20 m. In the northern portion of its range, sweetbay is deciduous.
Leaves: Alternate, entire, long and elliptic or oblong, tapering at the base of the leaf. Leathery leaves 6 to 15 cm long and 2 to 6 cm wide with pale undersides.
Flowers/Fruit: Typical "magnolia" flowers with 9 to 12 white petals; fragrant. Fruit is a dark red cone, 5 cm long. Blooms April to July; fruits July to October.
Habit and Range: Wet flatwoods, swamps, bay forests and savannas in the Coastal Plain. Occasionally found in the Piedmont in moist sandy areas.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Magnolia virginiana (sweetbay) leaves are similar to Persea palustris (swamp bay), but M. virginiana leaves have strongly white undersides and are not as strongly aromatic. Persea palustris also has velvety hairy twigs and small round fruits on long stalks.
Click here to view Persea palustris.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
