Sweetbay, Southern Sweetbay, Swampbay, Swamp Magnolia, Sweet Magnolia, Small Magnolia, Laurel Magnolia, White Bay, White Laurel, Swamp Laurel, Beaver Tree
Blooms April-July. Unlike Southern Magnolia (M. grandiflora) which gets huge, Sweetbay is a good size for small yard, can also handle our Houston monsoons. Leaves are thinner with white undersides, turn yellow/brown in winter, are replaced in spring. 4-6 inch white blooms with same lemony fragrance, develop over 3 days. Red seeds on 2″ oval woody cone. Smooth gray bark, usually multi-trunked. Larval Host: Sweetbay Silkmoth, Tiger and Spicebush swallowtail butterflies.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym(s): Magnolia virginiana var. australis, Magnolia virginiana var. parva
References
1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 294. 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MAVI2. 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Magnolia+virginiana&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 5) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=14422&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 6) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=18070#null
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