Synonyms: Swamp Magnolia, Sweetbay Magnolia.
Sweetbay ranges from western Massachusetts, Long Island, and Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to Texas.In Maryland, Sweetbay occurs mainly on the Coastal Plain, usually near water - wet woods and edges of swamps. In the Washington, DC, area, along the inner Coastal Plain near the Fall Line (the division between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain physiographic provinces), Magnolia virginiana is a characteristic component of distinctive natural features that Washington-area naturalist W.L. McAtee (1918) first defined, terming them "Magnolia Bogs." These bogs contain a unique assemblage of unusual or rare plants. Simmons and Strong (2002) explained that the bogs "usually form on hillsides or slopes where a spring or seep flows from an upland gravel and sand aquifer over a thick, impervious layer of underlying clay which prevents the downward infiltration of water. This seepage flow and the highly acidic, gravelly soils create optimal conditions for the formation of bogs.... Magnolia Bogs are...acidic, fen-like seeps uniquely associated with high elevation gravel terraces."
Sweetbay may be evergreen, semi-evergreen, or deciduous. It is usually a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree that reaches 15-20 feet tall, but it can grow to 50 feet tall. It has large, white, slightly lemon-scented blossoms in May and June. These give way to pods with bright red seeds in fall.
A good place to look for Sweetbay is in bottomland swamps on the Coastal Plain.
>Host plant for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Host plant for various species of moth including Magnolia Serpentine Leafminer (forms distinctive leafmines), Tulip Tree Leaftier Moth, and Paralobesia cyclopiana (Gilligan, Wright, & Gibson, 2008, Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants).
There are 420 records in the project database.
| GA | AL | WA | FR | CL | MO | HO | BA | BC | HA | CE | PG | AA | CV | CH | SM | KE | QA | CN | TA | DO | WI | SO | WO |
