Sweet Bay
Magnolia virginiana L.
Also known as Swamp Magnolia or White Bay.
Mature Size: Typically 20 to 30 feet in height and 1 foot in diameter, but may reach 60 feet in height.
Form: Small tree with a rounded, narrow crown.
Habitat: Swamp edges and other low, wet areas.
Leaves
Alternate, simple, oblong, 4 to 6 inches long, blunt pointed, smooth edged, shiny bright green above and pale or whitish below, releasing a pleasant, spicy odor when crushed.
Flowers
2 to 3 inches across, fragrant, creamy white, cup-shaped, with 9 to 12 petals; appearing in late spring.
Fruit
2-inch conelike cluster, pink ripening to dark reddish-brown, with bright red seeds.
Bark
Smooth, red-brown to gray, often mottled.
Twigs
Moderate in size, pale green, fuzzy, with ring-like scars encircling twigs at points of leaf attachment; buds ½ inch long, with fuzzy, silvery-gray scales curling at the ends.
Values and Uses
Sweetbay wood is soft. It is not a major commercial species, but it has been used for veneer, boxes, handles, novelty woodenware, core stock for furniture, and occasionally for pulpwood. The foliage and twigs are a favorite browse for deer, and the seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals. Sweetbay is also grown as an attractive landscape tree.
Did You Know?
Sweetbay is often late in shedding its leaves; farther south, it may be almost evergreen.
