Magnolia grandiflora, commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a flowering tree in the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States coastal plain, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching 27.5 m (90 ft) in height, it is a large, striking evergreen tree, with large, dark-green leaves up to 20 cm (7+3⁄4 in) long and 12 cm (4+3⁄4 in) wide, and large, white, fragrant flowers up to 30 cm (12 in) in diameter.
Although endemic to the evergreen lowland subtropical forests on the Gulf and South Atlantic coastal plain, M. grandiflora is widely cultivated in warmer areas around the world. The timber is hard and heavy, and has been used commercially to make furniture, pallets, and veneer.
Description
Flower and foliage of M. grandiflora
Magnolia grandiflora is a medium to large evergreen tree which may grow 120 ft (37 m) tall. It typically has a single stem (or trunk) and a pyramidal shape. The leaves are simple and broadly ovate,
The large, showy and fragrant lemon-citronella-scented flowers are white and measure up to 30 cm (11+3⁄4 in) across. Each bloom consists of six to 12 petals with a waxy texture, emerging from the tips of twigs on mature trees in late spring.
Pollination of the flower produces a rose-colored fruit, an ovoid polyfollicle that is approximately 7.5–10 cm (3–3+7⁄8 in) long and 3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) wide.
Exceptionally large trees have been reported in the far Southern United States. The national champion is a specimen in Smith County, Mississippi, that stands 37 m (121 ft). Another record includes a 35-m-high specimen from the Chickasawhay District, De Soto National Forest, in Mississippi, which measured 17.75 ft (5.4 m) in circumference at breast height, from 1961, and a 30-m-tall tree from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which reached 18 ft in circumference at breast height.
