Index / Search / Magnolia virginiana
§1 Plant
Magnolia virginiana L.
vernacular sweetbay — species · Magnoliaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Magnoliaceae Juss.
- Genus
- Magnolia
§2a
Native status, by region
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 416 counties across 16 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- None
- Shade
- Medium
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- None
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- None
- Hedging
- Medium
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- 17 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 180 min.
- Precipitation
- 40–80 in/yr
- pH range
- 5–6.9
- Root depth
- 30 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 60 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 40 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Dark Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Moderate
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Black
- Fire resistant
- Yes
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Summer
- Seed abundance
- Medium
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Winter
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 7,530
- Propagation
- seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- Yes
- Browse palatability
- High
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Medium
- Lumber
- No
- Fuelwood
- Low
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 416 counties across 16 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 44 N ▾
- Autauga 01001
- Baldwin 01003
- Barbour 01005
- Bibb 01007
- Bullock 01011
- Butler 01013
- Chambers 01017
- Cherokee 01019
- Chilton 01021
- Choctaw 01023
- Clay 01027
- Cleburne 01029
- Coffee 01031
- Coosa 01037
- Covington 01039
- Crenshaw 01041
- Dale 01045
- Dallas 01047
- Elmore 01051
- Escambia 01053
- Etowah 01055
- Fayette 01057
- Franklin 01059
- Geneva 01061
- Greene 01063
- Hale 01065
- Henry 01067
- Houston 01069
- Jackson 01071
- Lamar 01075
- Lee 01081
- Lowndes 01085
- Macon 01087
- Marengo 01091
- Mobile 01097
- Monroe 01099
- Montgomery 01101
- Perry 01105
- Pike 01109
- Randolph 01111
- Russell 01113
- Tallapoosa 01123
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Washington 01129
Arkansas view state ↗ 15 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 52 N ▾
- Alachua 12001
- Baker 12003
- Bay 12005
- Bradford 12007
- Brevard 12009
- Broward 12011
- Citrus 12017
- Clay 12019
- Collier 12021
- Columbia 12023
- Dixie 12029
- Escambia 12033
- Franklin 12037
- Gadsden 12039
- Gilchrist 12041
- Gulf 12045
- Hamilton 12047
- Hardee 12049
- Highlands 12055
- Hillsborough 12057
- Indian River 12061
- Jackson 12063
- Jefferson 12065
- Lafayette 12067
- Lake 12069
- Leon 12073
- Levy 12075
- Liberty 12077
- Madison 12079
- Manatee 12081
- Marion 12083
- Martin 12085
- Miami-Dade 12086
- Monroe 12087
- Nassau 12089
- Okaloosa 12091
- Okeechobee 12093
- Orange 12095
- Osceola 12097
- Pasco 12101
- Pinellas 12103
- Polk 12105
- Putnam 12107
- Santa Rosa 12113
- Seminole 12117
- St. Johns 12109
- Suwannee 12121
- Taylor 12123
- Union 12125
- Volusia 12127
- Wakulla 12129
- Walton 12131
Georgia view state ↗ 61 N ▾
- Atkinson 13003
- Baker 13007
- Baldwin 13009
- Barrow 13013
- Bibb 13021
- Candler 13043
- Carroll 13045
- Charlton 13049
- Chatham 13051
- Cherokee 13057
- Clayton 13063
- Coffee 13069
- Columbia 13073
- Crisp 13081
- Decatur 13087
- DeKalb 13089
- Effingham 13103
- Emanuel 13107
- Fayette 13113
- Glynn 13127
- Grady 13131
- Gwinnett 13135
- Hancock 13141
- Haralson 13143
- Henry 13151
- Houston 13153
- Irwin 13155
- Jackson 13157
- Jasper 13159
- Jeff Davis 13161
- Jefferson 13163
- Lanier 13173
- Laurens 13175
- Lee 13177
- Liberty 13179
- Lowndes 13185
- Madison 13195
- Marion 13197
- McDuffie 13189
- McIntosh 13191
- Meriwether 13199
- Newton 13217
- Randolph 13243
- Richmond 13245
- Screven 13251
- Spalding 13255
- Sumter 13261
- Tattnall 13267
- Telfair 13271
- Tift 13277
- Toombs 13279
- Treutlen 13283
- Turner 13287
- Upson 13293
- Walker 13295
- Walton 13297
- Ware 13299
- Washington 13303
- Wayne 13305
- Wheeler 13309
- Worth 13321
Louisiana view state ↗ 32 N ▾
- Allen 22003
- Beauregard 22011
- Bienville 22013
- Bossier 22015
- Caddo 22017
- Calcasieu 22019
- Caldwell 22021
- Catahoula 22025
- Claiborne 22027
- De Soto 22031
- East Feliciana 22037
- Evangeline 22039
- Grant 22043
- Jackson 22049
- LaSalle 22059
- Lincoln 22061
- Livingston 22063
- Natchitoches 22069
- Ouachita 22073
- Plaquemines 22075
- Rapides 22079
- Red River 22081
- Sabine 22085
- St. Charles 22089
- St. Helena 22091
- St. Tammany 22103
- Tangipahoa 22105
- Union 22111
- Vernon 22115
- Washington 22117
- Webster 22119
- Winn 22127
Massachusetts view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 41 N ▾
- Adams 28001
- Amite 28005
- Attala 28007
- Choctaw 28019
- Clarke 28023
- Copiah 28029
- Covington 28031
- Forrest 28035
- Franklin 28037
- George 28039
- Greene 28041
- Hancock 28045
- Harrison 28047
- Itawamba 28057
- Jackson 28059
- Jasper 28061
- Jefferson Davis 28065
- Jones 28067
- Kemper 28069
- Lafayette 28071
- Lamar 28073
- Lauderdale 28075
- Lawrence 28077
- Lee 28081
- Marion 28091
- Monroe 28095
- Neshoba 28099
- Newton 28101
- Pearl River 28109
- Perry 28111
- Pike 28113
- Scott 28123
- Smith 28129
- Stone 28131
- Tippah 28139
- Tishomingo 28141
- Walthall 28147
- Washington 28151
- Wayne 28153
- Wilkinson 28157
- Winston 28159
New Jersey view state ↗ 17 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 7 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 51 N ▾
- Anson 37007
- Beaufort 37013
- Bertie 37015
- Bladen 37017
- Brunswick 37019
- Carteret 37031
- Chowan 37041
- Columbus 37047
- Craven 37049
- Cumberland 37051
- Currituck 37053
- Dare 37055
- Duplin 37061
- Durham 37063
- Edgecombe 37065
- Franklin 37069
- Gates 37073
- Greene 37079
- Guilford 37081
- Halifax 37083
- Harnett 37085
- Hertford 37091
- Hoke 37093
- Iredell 37097
- Johnston 37101
- Jones 37103
- Lee 37105
- Lenoir 37107
- Martin 37117
- Moore 37125
- Nash 37127
- New Hanover 37129
- Northampton 37131
- Onslow 37133
- Pender 37141
- Perquimans 37143
- Pitt 37147
- Polk 37149
- Richmond 37153
- Robeson 37155
- Rockingham 37157
- Sampson 37163
- Scotland 37165
- Tyrrell 37177
- Vance 37181
- Wake 37183
- Warren 37185
- Washington 37187
- Wayne 37191
- Wilson 37195
- Yadkin 37197
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 10 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 28 N ▾
- Aiken 45003
- Allendale 45005
- Barnwell 45011
- Beaufort 45013
- Berkeley 45015
- Calhoun 45017
- Charleston 45019
- Chesterfield 45025
- Clarendon 45027
- Colleton 45029
- Darlington 45031
- Dillon 45033
- Florence 45041
- Georgetown 45043
- Hampton 45049
- Horry 45051
- Jasper 45053
- Kershaw 45055
- Lancaster 45057
- Lee 45061
- Lexington 45063
- Marion 45067
- Marlboro 45069
- Orangeburg 45075
- Richland 45079
- Saluda 45081
- Sumter 45085
- Williamsburg 45089
Tennessee view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 50 N ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Amelia 51007
- Augusta 51015
- Brunswick 51025
- Caroline 51033
- Charles City 51036
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Fairfax 51059
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Greensville 51081
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lancaster 51103
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Prince William 51153
- Richmond 51159
- Rockingham 51165
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Westmoreland 51193
- York 51199
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/MAVI2 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3153639 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z