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Magnolia virginiana

Common name:	Laurel Magnolia	Family:	Magnoliaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Magnolia glauca (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Massachusetts to Florida, west to Missouri and Tennessee.
Habitat:	Wet acid sandy barrens and swamps at low elevations[184, 229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	M. virginiana var. australis[B,G,P] M. virginiana var. parva[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Magnolya [E], Manolya [E], Swamp Sassafras [H], Sweet Bay [H], Sweet-bay [B], Sweetbay [P,FEIS], Sweetbay Magnolia [DEN1], White Laurel [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Magnoliales. Magnolia family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Turkey; Us; Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 10m by 6m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Beetles. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Tea.

The leaves are used as a condiment in gravies etc[183].
A tea is made from the leaves[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Aromatic; Astringent; Bitter; Diaphoretic; Febrifuge; Hallucinogenic; Stimulant.

A tea made from the bark is antiperiodic, aromatic, diaphoretic, laxative, stimulant and tonic[4, 222]. It has historically been used as a substitute for quinine in the treatment of malaria[222, 238] and is also taken internally in the treatment of colds, bronchial diseases, upper respiratory tract infections, rheumatism and gout[238, 257]. The bark has been chewed by people trying to break the tobacco habit[222]. The bark is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238]. It does not store well so stocks should be renewed annually[238].
A tea made from the fruit is a tonic, used in the treatment of general debility and was formerly esteemed in the treatment of stomach ailments[222].
The leaves or bark have been placed in cupped hands over the nose and inhaled as a mild hallucinogen[257].

Other Uses

Wood.

An essential oil from the flowers has been used in the manufacture of perfumes[227].
Wood - straight-grained, light, soft, easily worked, finishes well, aromatic and yellow in colour[4, 46, 61, 229]. It weighs 31lb per cubic foot[227]. Used for furniture, broom handles, bowls and light woodenware articles etc[46, 61, 227, 229].

Cultivation details

Requires a sunny sheltered position in a deep soil that does not dry out in the summer[11]. Plants are also tolerant of wet soils[238]. Succeeds in acid or neutral soils in sun or part shade[184]. Dislikes limey soils[11]. Tolerates some alkalinity so long as there is at least 50cm of good soil above the alkaline layer[202]. The branches are brittle so a sheltered position is required[200]. Plants are very tolerant of atmospheric pollution[200].
Mature dormant plants are hardy to about -20°c but the flowers are easily damaged by frost or wind.[184]. A warmth-loving species, it is best grown in the south and east of Britain[11].
The fleshy roots are easily damaged and any transplanting is best done during a spell of mild moist weather in late spring[182].
A slow growing tree but it flowers whilst young[182]. The flowers have a delicious scent of lemons[182].
A number of cultivars have been developed for their ornamental value.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed must be kept cold over the winter and should be sown in late winter in a cold frame[200]. The seed usually germinates in the spring but it can take 18 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse for at least their first winter. They can be planted out into their permanent positions when they are more than 15cm tall, though should be well mulched and given some protection from winter cold for their first winter or two outdoors.
Layering in early spring[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a delicious scent of lemons.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Magnolia glauca (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for the family Magnoliaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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