Sweet-bay Magnolia

The silvery undersides of the leaves are striking.

Erroneously listed as a host for palamedes swallowtail butterflies. Palamedes swallowtails only feed on native members of the genus Persea.



Specimen plant in moist areas. Rain gardens and bioswales. Wetland tree. In wetlands, it forms clonal thickets making it useful for wetland restoration.

Tolerant of inundation with brackish water



Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Seeds are eaten by woodpeckers, kingbirds, red-eyed vireos, mockingbirds, robins, thrushes, crows, cardinals, squirrels, mice among others.

Deer browse leaves and twigs.

Fruits eaten by gray squirrels, mice, turkey and quail as well as a variety of smaller birds  including vireos, towhees,  blue jays, woodpeckers, kingbirds,  mockingbirds, robins, thrushes, crows, cardinals, squirrels, mice among others

Bay swamp, forested seep slopes, floodplains of small streams, low flatwoods where fire has been excluded.

• Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
• Larval host plant for Eastern tiger swallowtail (Pterourous glaucus).
• Larval host for the southern tiger swallowtail.  This butterfly is restricted to Magnolia virginiana.
• Beetles are the primary pollinators. The flowers have a hardened carpel to avoid damage by their gnawing mandibles as the feed. The beetles are after the protein-rich pollen. Because the beetles are interesting in pollen and pollen alone, the flowers mature in a way that ensures cross pollination. The male parts mature first and offer said pollen. The female parts of the flower are second to mature. They produce no reward for the beetles but are instead believed to mimic the male parts, ensuring that the beetles will spend some time exploring and thus effectively pollinating the flowers (In Defense of Plants blog).