Magnolia grandiflora, southern magnolia
Coladonato, Milo. 1991. Magnolia grandiflora, southern magnolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/maggra
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| MAGGRA | southern magnolia | Magnolia grandiflora | Life Form: Plants/Tree Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Magnoliales Family: Magnoliaceae Genus: Magnolia | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name for southern magnolia is Magnolia grandiflora L. [19]. The genus Magnolia consists of 35 species of deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs in North and Central America, eastern Asia and the Himalayas; nine species are native to the United States [23].
Synonyms
- None
Other Common Names
evergreen magnolia, bull-bay, big-laurel, large-flower magnolia
General Distribution
The range of southern magnolia extends from North Carolina along the Atlantic Coast to central Florida, westward through the southern half of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and across Louisiana into eastern Texas [2,24]. It is cultivated in Hawaii [32].
States and Provinces
- United States: AL FL GA HI LA MS NC SC TX
Site Characteristics
Southern magnolia growing with pines, Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, MS.
Southern magnolia grows best on rich, loamy, moist soils along streams and near swamps in the Coastal Plain [1,21]. It grows also on mesic upland sites where fire is rare. Although primarily a bottomland species, southern magnolia cannot withstand prolonged inundation; consequently, it is found mostly on alluvium and outwash sites [24]. No part of its range is higher than 500 feet (150 m) in elevation and most of it is less than 200 feet (60 m). Coastal areas within its range are less than 100 feet (30 m) above sea level. In the northern parts of its range in Georgia and Mississippi, it is found at elevations of 300 to 400 feet (90-120 m) [5,12,24].
In addition to those listed in Table A1, common overstory associates include American beech (Fagus grandifolia), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera), live oak (Quercus virginiana), southern red oak (Q. falcata), white oak (Q. alba), mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa), and pignut hickory (C. glabra). Some common understory associates include flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), swamp dogwood (C. stricta), strawberry-bush (Euonymus americanus), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), greenbrier (Smilax spp.), and grape (Vitis spp.) [21,28].
Plant Communities
No entry.
Botanical Description
Southern magnolia flower.
Southern magnolia is a fast-growing, medium-sized, native evergreen tree that grows 60 to 90 feet (18-27 m) tall [9,12]. The large, white flowers are perfect and fragrant. The seeds are drupelike with a soft, fleshy outer seed coat and an inner stony portion. Southern magnolia develops a deep taproot. As trees grow the root structure changes. Trees of sapling stage and beyond have a rather extensive root system. Older trees develop a fluted base with the ridges corresponding to the attachment of major lateral roots [5,12].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
- Cryptophyte
Seasonal Development
Southern magnolia flowers between April and June; its fruit ripens from September through late fall [6,12].
Regeneration Processes
Southern magnolia is a prolific seed producer, and good seed crops usually are produced every year. Trees as young as 10 years can produce seed, but optimum seed production does not occur until age 25. Cleaned seeds range from 5,800 to 6,800/pound (12,800-15,000/kg). Seed viability averages about 50 percent. The relatively heavy seeds are disseminated by birds and mammals, but some may be spread by heavy rains [24]. Southern magnolia is pollinated by insects [23,30].
Successional Status
Southern magnolia is moderately tolerant of shade. It can endure considerable shade in early life but needs more light as it becomes older [13]. Southern magnolia will invade pine or hardwood stands and is able to reproduce under a closed canopy. It will not reproduce under its own shade. Once established, it can maintain or increase its presence in stands by sprouts and seedlings that grow up through openings, which occur sporadically in the canopy [24]. Southern magnolia has been migrating onto mesic upland sites and establishing itself, along with associated hardwoods, as part of the climax forest [22,23].
Immediate Fire Effects
Southern magnolia seedlings are easily killed by fire. Older trees, due to bark characteristics, are quite fire resistant. Plants sprout vigorously when top-killed by fire [10,16,18].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
- off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2
Fire Adaptations
Southern magnolia is well adapted to fire. Although the bark is relatively thin, the cork layer underneath the bark does not burn easily and is relatively resistant to heat [15,27].
Plant Response to Fire
Southern magnolia sprouts from surviving root collars following fire [8,16].
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
Where fire is suppressed or infrequent, southern magnolia and live oak can become dominant species in the southern mixed hardwood forests. The transition from an open, fire-dominated forest to a closed-canopy, deciduous forest favors the Quercus-Magnolia climax community [3,6,10].
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Southern magnolia seeds are eaten by squirrels, opossum, quail, and wild turkey [23,24].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
No entry.
Cover Value
Southern magnolia provides cover for many small birds and mammals [29].
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
No entry.
Other Uses
Southern magnolia is a valuable and extensively planted ornamental. The leaves, fruit, bark, and wood yield a variety of extracts with potential applications as pharmaceuticals [14,24]. Southern magnolia is a good urban landscape tree because it is resistant to acid deposition [24].
The hard, heavy wood of southern magnolia is used to make furniture, pallets, and veneer [5,24].
Other Management Considerations
Winter drought can cause extensive dieback and mortality of southern magnolia. Seedlings are susceptible to frost damage; even a light freeze can cause mortality. A number of Fomes and Polyporus fungi cause heartrot in southern magnolia. Heavy infestations of magnolia scale (Neolecanium cornuparyum) kill branches or entire trees [14,24].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
- FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
- FRES14 Oak - pine
- FRES15 Oak - hickory
- FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- No entry.
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K089 Black Belt
- K090 Live oak - sea oats
- K091 Cypress savanna
- K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
- K112 Southern mixed forest
- K113 Southern floodplain forest
- K114 Pocosin
- K115 Sand pine scrub
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 69 Sand pine
- 70 Longleaf pine
- 71 Longleaf pine - scrub oak
- 72 Southern scrub oak
- 73 Southern redcedar
- 74 Cabbage palmetto
- 75 Shortleaf pine
- 76 Shortleaf pine oak
- 80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
- 81 Loblolly pine
- 82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
- 83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
- 84 Slash pine
- 85 Slash pine - hardwood
- 87 Sweetgum - yellow-poplar
- 88 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
- 89 Live oak
- 91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
- 92 Sweetgum - willow oak
- 96 Overcup oak - water hickory
- 97 Atlantic white-cedar
- 98 Pond pine
- 100 Pond cypress
- 101 Baldcypress
- 102 Baldcypress - tupelo
- 103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
- 104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
- 111 South Florida slash pine
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry.
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