''Magnolia virginiana'', most commonly known as sweetbay magnolia, or merely sweetbay (also laurel magnolia, swampbay, swamp magnolia, white bay, or beaver tree), is a member of the

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

family,

Magnoliaceae The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: ''Magnolia'' and '' Liriodendron'' (tulip trees). Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), t ...

. It was the first magnolia to be scientifically described under modern rules of botanical

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal naming conventions, conventions of everyday speech to the i ...

, and is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus ''Magnolia''; as ''Magnolia'' is also the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

of all

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s (magnoliophytes), this species in a sense typifies all flowering plants.

Taxonomy

''Magnolia virginiana'' was one of the many species described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

Description

Catesby Natural History of Carolina plate 39 Magnolia virginiana and Blue Grosbeak

''Magnolia virginiana'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

to 30 m (100 ft) tall, native to the lowlands and swamps of the Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, New York. Whether it is deciduous or evergreen depends on climate; it is evergreen in areas with milder winters in the south of its range (zone 7 southward), and is semi-evergreen or deciduous further north. The leaves are alternate, simple (not lobed or pinnate), with entire margins, 6–12 cm long, and 3–5 cm wide. The bark is smooth and gray, with the inner bark mildly scented, the scent reminiscent of the

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

spice. The flowers are creamy white, 8–14 cm diameter, with 6-15 petal-like

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. The flowers carry a very strong vanilla scent that can sometimes be noticed several hundred yards away. The fruit is a fused aggregate of follicles, 3–5 cm long, pinkish-red when mature, with the follicles splitting open to release the 1 cm long seeds. The seeds are black but covered by a thinly fleshy red coat, which is attractive to some

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

-eating

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s; these swallow the seeds, digest the red coating, and disperse the seeds in their droppings.

Cultivation

''Magnolia virginiana'' is often grown as an ornamental tree in gardens, and used in horticultural applications to give an architectural feel to landscape designs. It is an attractive tree for

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s and large

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, grown for its large, conspicuous, scented flowers, for its clean, attractive foliage, and for its fast growth. In warmer areas Magnolia virginiana is valued for its evergreen foliage. The English botanist and missionary John Banister collected ''Magnolia virginiana'' in the southeastern United States in 1678 and sent it to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where it flowered for Bishop Henry Compton. This species was the first magnolia to be cultivated in England, although it was soon overshadowed by the evergreen, larger-flowered southern magnolia ('' M. grandiflora'') The sweetbay magnolia has been hybridized horticulturally with a number of species within subgenus Magnolia. These species include ''M. globosa, M. grandiflora, M. insignis, M. macrophylla, M. obovata, M. sieboldii'' and '' M. tripetala''. Some of these hybrids have been given

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

names and registered by the Magnolia Society.

Chemistry

Flowers contain the neolignans 3,5′-diallyl-2′,4-dihydroxybiphenyl, 4,4′-diallyl-2,3′-dihydroxybiphenyl ether, 5,5′-diallyl-2,2′-dihydroxybiphenyl and 3,5′-diallyl-2′-hydroxy-4-methoxybiphenyl.

Gallery

File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Unopened Closeup 2059px.jpg, Unopened flower bud File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Leaves 2000px.jpg, Leaves File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Leaf 2000px.jpg, Leaf closeup File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Trunk Base 3000px.jpg, Base of the tree's trunk File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Bark Vertical.JPG, Closeup of the tree's bark File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Flower Closeup 2242px-2.jpg, Flower File:Magnolia virginiana fruit.jpg, Immature fruit File:Magnolia virginiana mature fruit.jpg, Mature fruit File:Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana Dried Berry Cluster 2000px.jpg, Dried berry cluster

References

External links

''Magnolia virginiana'' images at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Plant Image Database
* Damery, Jonathan
"Founding fruit."
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 28 August 2019. Accessed 27 April 2020. * Friedman, William (Ned)
"Seed dispersal in a magnolia: before and after."
''Posts from the Collections,'' Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 5 September 2015. Accessed 27 April 2020.
"Magnolia_[Virginiana_a.
glauca,_original_drawing_by_Charles_Edward_Faxon.".html" ;"title="irginiana a.">"Magnolia ">irginiana_a.">"Magnolia_[Virginiana_a.
glauca,_original_drawing_by_Charles_Edward_Faxon."''Library_Featured_Images,''_Arnold_Arboretum_of_Harvard_University_website,_30_June_2016._Accessed_27_April_2020.
"Sweet_bay_magnolia_-_''Magnolia_virginiana.''"
Arnold_Arboretum_of_Harvard_University_website,_2016._Accessed_27_April_2020.
"''Magnolia_virginiana''_in_eastern_North_America_and_Cuba".
''News,''_Arnold_Arboretum_of_Harvard_University_website,_24_May_2011._Accessed_27_April_2020. *
Interactive_Distribution_Map_of_''Magnolia_virginiana''
{{Taxonbar.html" ;"title="irginiana a.
glauca, original drawing by Charles Edward Faxon."">irginiana a.">"Magnolia ''Library_Featured_Images,''_Arnold_Arboretum_of_Harvard_University_website,_30_June_2016._Accessed_27_April_2020.
"Sweet_bay_magnolia_-_''Magnolia_virginiana.''"
Arnold_Arboretum_of_Harvard_University_website,_2016._Accessed_27_April_2020.
"''Magnolia_virginiana''_in_eastern_North_America_and_Cuba".
''News,''_Arnold_Arboretum_of_Harvard_University_website,_24_May_2011._Accessed_27_April_2020. *
Interactive_Distribution_Map_of_''Magnolia_virginiana''
{{Taxonbar">from=Q1859063 Magnolia.html" ;"title="irginiana a.
glauca, original drawing by Charles Edward Faxon."''Library Featured Images,'' Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 30 June 2016. Accessed 27 April 2020.
"Sweet bay magnolia - ''Magnolia virginiana.''"
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 2016. Accessed 27 April 2020.
"''Magnolia virginiana'' in eastern North America and Cuba".
''News,'' Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 24 May 2011. Accessed 27 April 2020. *
Interactive Distribution Map of ''Magnolia virginiana''
{{Taxonbar">from=Q1859063 virginiana Trees_of_the_Southeastern_United_States Garden_plants_of_North_America.html" ;"title="Magnolia">virginiana Trees of the Southeastern United States Garden plants of North America">Magnolia">virginiana Trees of the Southeastern United States Garden plants of North America Bird food plants Ornamental trees Trees of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees of the Eastern United States Trees of the Northeastern United States