Home/Species/ Sweetbay Magnolia

Magnolia virginiana

Sweetbay Magnolia

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

LowThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.144735

Element CodePDMAG020A0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderMagnoliales

FamilyMagnoliaceae

GenusMagnolia

Other Common Names

sweetbay (EN) Sweetbay (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2024-07-08

Change Date1983-10-11

Edition Date2024-07-08

Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2024).

Threat ImpactLow

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) occurs in the eastern and southeastern United States, and is disjunct in northwestern Cuba. It is common in wetlands on the Coastal Plain, there are estimated to be more than 2500 occurrences. It occurs on various National Forests, State Forests, State Parks, State Wildlife Management Areas and other conservation lands. Threats include the loss of habitat due to residential development and urbanization.

Range Extent Comments

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) occurs in the eastern and southeastern United States, and is disjunct in northwestern Cuba. It is common in wetlands on the Coastal Plain, and unusual in wetlands in the Piedmont, Appalachians and Interior Highlands. Range extent was estimated to be 2.3 million square kilometers, using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (FNA 1997, GBIF 2024, Greuter and Rankin Rodríguez 2022, iNaturalist 2024, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2024).

Occurrences Comments

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, there are estimated to be more than 2500 occurrences of Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024).

Threat Impact Comments

Threats include the loss of habitat due to residential development and urbanization.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) occurs in the Coastal Plain in pocosins, bay forests, and swamps in the Coastal Plain, in the Sandhills of the Carolinas and Georgia in streamhead pocosins, swamps, and sandhill seeps, and in the Piedmont and Mountains in bogs and peaty swamps at elevations of 0 - 540 m (FNA 1997, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2024).

Palustrine Habitats

SCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Maryland	SNR	Yes
Texas	SNR	Yes
Alabama	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	S5	Yes
Florida	SNR	Yes
Arkansas	SNR	Yes
New York	S1	Yes
Pennsylvania	S2	Yes
Tennessee	S2	Yes
District of Columbia	SNR	Yes
Massachusetts	S1	Yes
Georgia	SNR	Yes
Mississippi	SNR	Yes
North Carolina	S5	Yes
Louisiana	SNR	Yes
Virginia	S5	Yes
South Carolina	SNR	Yes
Delaware	S5	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
1 - Residential & commercial development	Small (1-10%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	High (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areas	Small (1-10%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	High (continuing)

Plant Characteristics

DurationEVERGREEN, DECIDUOUS

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (4)

Florida (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Gum Bay	Apalachicola National Forest	11,645

North Carolina (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Catfish Lake North	Croatan National Forest	11,299
Pond Pine B	Croatan National Forest	2,961
Sheep Ridge Addition	Croatan National Forest	5,808

References (8)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
Greuter, Werner. and Rosa Rankin Rodríguez. 2022. Vascular Plants of Cuba, A Checklist. Third, updated edition of The Spermatophyta of Cuba. Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum, Berlin and Jardín Botánico Nacional, Universidad de La Habana. Online. Available: https://www.bgbm.org/sites/default/files/plantas_vasculares_de_cuba_inventario_tercera_edicion.pdf
iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
Priester, D.S. 1990. <i>Magnolia virginiana</i> L. Sweet Bay. In: Burns, R.M. & Homkala. B.H. (ed.), Silvics of North America. Volume 2: Hardwoods, pp. 449. Forest Service United States Department of Agriculture
Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.

Magnolia virginiana

Habitat

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