southern magnolia Magnoliaceae Magnolia
grandiflora L.
symbol: MAGR4
Leaf: Alternate, simple, evergreen, oval to elliptical, 5 to 8 inches long, pinnately veined, entire margin, very thick almost plastic-like, waxy/shiny dark green above, paler with rusty fuzz below.
Flower: Species is monoecious; very showy and fragrant, 6 to 8 inches wide with large white petals, occur singly in late spring and occasionally a few in the fall.
Fruit: An aggregate of follicles, green changing to red and later to brown, cylindrical, 3 to 5 inches long with a bright red seed (1/2 inch long) in each follicle, maturing in fall.
Twig: Stout, with white to rusty tomentum and a long (1 to 1 1/2 inches) silky white to rusty red terminal bud.
Bark: Brown to gray, thin, smooth/lenticellate when young, later with close plates or scales.
Form: A medium sized tree up to 80 feet with a pyramidal crown. When open grown, the crown is dense with low branches.
Looks like: great rhododendron