Sweet bay magnolias (
Magnolia virginiana) have been blooming for several weeks in the arboretum. Unfortunately, these flowers are easy to miss because they are not at eye level. There are seven individual sweet bays in the arboretum collection, and most of these trees are well over twenty years old. They are grown up, with the majority of their lower limbs removed. This means that, for the most part, all of the blooms are high up and out of view. Fortunately, the sweet bay magnolias are just as fragrant as the traditional magnolia flower (
Magnolia grandiflora), so even if we cannot see the flowers, we still have a good chance of experiencing the divine fragrance that these flowers produce.
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| The flowers are a creamy white and very fragrant. They are a smaller version of the traditional magnolia flower (Magnolia grandiflora). |
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| Most flowers are easy to miss because they occur out of sight, but the fragrance of a blooming magnolia will tell you its time to look for flowers. |
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| Underside of leaves |
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| Leaves and flower bud |
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| Bark detail of younger specimen |
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| Mature bark on Magnolia virginiana var. australis |
You can see additional photos of the arboretum's sweet bay magnolias
here.
For more information about this species consult the following:
United States Department of Agriculture
Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours (LSU AgCenter)
University of Florida IFAS Extension
