North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Magnolia macrophylla

Magnolia macrophylla Michx.

bigleaf magnolia

Image ID: 7750
Image by: Parkins, Grant Morrow
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: MAMA2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Magnolia macrophylla
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-25

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: MAGNO
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Magnolia
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Magnolia
GENUS SUMMARY: As treated here, a genus of about 130 species, trees and shrubs, of e. Asia (Himalayas and Sri Lanka to Japan and w. Malaysia) and America (e. North America to West Indies, Central America, and South America); alternate treatments in current use divide Magnolia into as many as 16 genera (of which Magnolia Linnaeus, Houpoea N.H. Xia & C.Y. Wu, Metamagnolia Sima & S.G. Lu, Paramagnolia Sima & S.G. Lu, and Yulania Spach are represented in our flora). Molecular phylogenetics show Magnolia virginiana and M. grandiflora as closely related in a New World primarily subtropical clade, M. macrophylla in a clade with its close relatives, M. fraseri and M. pyramidata together, M. acuminata as basal in a clade that is otherwise Asian (equivalent to subgenus Yulania), and M. tripetala grouped in another clade that is otherwise Asian (Azuma et al. 2001). The sections used follow Figlar & Nooteboom (2004).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Sima & Lu (2012)=Q; Tobe (1998)=Y; Spongberg (1998)=X; Frodin & Govaerts (1996)=V; Palmarola-Bejerano, Romanov, & Bobrov (2008)=U; Azuma, Thien, & Kawano (1999); Azuma et al. (2001); Figlar & Nooteboom (2004); Nooteboom in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Kim et al. (2001); Hunt (1998).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: MAGNOL
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Magnoliaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Magnolia Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 7 genera and 223 species, trees and shrubs, tropical and warm temperate, of e. and se. Asia, and from e. North America south through West Indies and Central America to Brazil.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Nie et al. (2008); Hardin (1972); Hardin & Jones (1989)=Z; Meyer in FNA (1997); Figlar & Nooteboom (2004); Frodin & Govaerts (1996); Nooteboom in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Kim et al. (2001).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 30- 40 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May-June

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: White flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD: Jul-Aug.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Bigleaf magnolia is one of the most beloved specimen trees here at the Garden. It has something to offer in every season: dinner plate sized white blooms in late spring, wonderfully large leaves throughout the growing season. This tree has the largest simple leaves of any tree native to North America! It also has large red fruits in late summer, a brief burst of yellow fall color, and open, intriguing architecture in winter. Not often offered for sale, get one while you can!

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 5
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
248	HORT	2006-09-01	Bryan	View
1678	HORT	2005-09-13	Bell	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
245	2011-0085	2011-04-28	248	View
3124	1989-0085			View
3786	1991-0481			View
3860	1992-0003			View
7100	1999-0052	1999-08-10		View
7745	2001-0100	2001-06-05		View
8004	2004-0012	2004-02-19	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
558	245	42	Liloia	2011-04-15	View
559	245	48	Liloia	2011-10-25	View
5204	3124	11	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6094	3786	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6169	3860	164	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10033	7100	175	NCBG staff	1999-05-24	View
10938	7745	65	NCBG staff	1994-01-01	View
11250	8004	170	NCBG staff	2003-09-15	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: MAMA2
USDA Common Name: Bigleaf Magnolia
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, DC, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, NY, OH, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree

2018 Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina

NHP ID	S RANK	ROUNDED S RANK	G RANK	ROUNDED G RANK	STATE STATUS	FEDERAL STATUS
18136	S2	S2	G5	G5	T

This information is derived from the 2018 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species.

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Magnolia macrophylla
COMMON NAME: Bigleaf Magnolia
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, K, RAB, S, Va, W, Z; = Magnolia macrophylla ssp. macrophylla - V, X, Y; = Metamagnolia macrophylla (Michaux) Sima & S.G. Lu ssp. macrophylla - Q]
PHENOLOGY: May-Jun; Jul-Aug.
HABITAT: Mesic forests, primarily over limestone, other calcareous sedimentary rocks (calcareous shales, sandstones, etc.), or mafic rocks (east of the Blue Ridge), mesic hammocks in the Coastal Plain.
COMMENTS: The range of this species is often stated in such a way as to imply that it is a tree of the southern mountains. Actually, it avoids the Southern Blue Ridge, reaching its greatest abundance in the sedimentary rock Appalachians west of the Blue Ridge, particularly the Cumberland Plateau, and occurs east of the Blue Ridge only as a rare disjunct. M. macrophylla ranges from s. OH and sw. VA south through e. TN to w. GA, west to AL, MS, n. LA, and se. AR (Sundell et al. 1999); disjunct on Crowleys Ridge in ne. AR (population now extirpated), c. and nc. SC, and e. SC (where probably not native). The leaves are up to 1.1 meter long and 3.5 dm wide. See Williams (1999) for additional information about the discovery and nomenclature of this species. The Gulf Coast endemic Magnolia ashei Weatherby is related and is sometimes treated as a variety or subspecies of M. macrophylla.
RANGE MAP: Magnolia macrophylla.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Magnoliaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Magnolia Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 7 genera and 223 species, trees and shrubs, tropical and warm temperate, of e. and se. Asia, and from e. North America south through West Indies and Central America to Brazil.
REFERENCE: Nie et al. (2008); Hardin (1972); Hardin & Jones (1989)=Z; Meyer in FNA (1997); Figlar & Nooteboom (2004); Frodin & Govaerts (1996); Nooteboom in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Kim et al. (2001).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Magnolia L. (Magnolia)
SUMMARY: As treated here, a genus of about 130 species, trees and shrubs, of e. Asia (Himalayas and Sri Lanka to Japan and w. Malaysia) and America (e. North America to West Indies, Central America, and South America); alternate treatments in current use divide Magnolia into as many as 16 genera (of which Magnolia Linnaeus, Houpoea N.H. Xia & C.Y. Wu, Metamagnolia Sima & S.G. Lu, Paramagnolia Sima & S.G. Lu, and Yulania Spach are represented in our flora). Molecular phylogenetics show Magnolia virginiana and M. grandiflora as closely related in a New World primarily subtropical clade, M. macrophylla in a clade with its close relatives, M. fraseri and M. pyramidata together, M. acuminata as basal in a clade that is otherwise Asian (equivalent to subgenus Yulania), and M. tripetala grouped in another clade that is otherwise Asian (Azuma et al. 2001). The sections used follow Figlar & Nooteboom (2004).
REFERENCE: Sima & Lu (2012)=Q; Tobe (1998)=Y; Spongberg (1998)=X; Frodin & Govaerts (1996)=V; Palmarola-Bejerano, Romanov, & Bobrov (2008)=U; Azuma, Thien, & Kawano (1999); Azuma et al. (2001); Figlar & Nooteboom (2004); Nooteboom in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Kim et al. (2001); Hunt (1998).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Magnolia macrophylla in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Magnolia macrophylla in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Magnolia macrophylla in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Magnolia macrophylla in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Magnolia macrophylla in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Magnolia macrophylla

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 7750 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 7750 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7751 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 7750 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)