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The Southern Magnolia, also known as Bull bay, is a magnolia native to the southeastern United States, from coastal North Carolina south to central Florida, and west to southeast Texas. It is a medium to large tree 20-30 m tall with a striking appearance, both in leaf and in bloom.
The leaves are evergreen, simple and broadly ovate, 12-20 cm long and 6-12 cm broad, with smooth margins. They are dark green, stiff and leathery, and often scurfy underneath with yellow-brown pubescence. They will bronze, blotch, and burn in severe winters at the northern limits of cultivation, but most still cling until they are replaced by new foliage in the spring. Two extremes are known, with leaves white underneath and with leaves brown underneath. The brown variety is claimed to be more cold-hardy than the white variety, but this does not appear to be proven as yet.
The flowers are white, up to 30 cm across and fragrant, with 6-12 petals with a waxy texture, emergeing from the tips of twigs on mature trees in late spring.
Cultivation and uses
Southern Magnolia is a very popular ornamental tree throughout the southeastern United States, grown for its attractive foliage and flowers. Cold-hardy cultivars have been seen planted up to and even north of the Ohio River, where it stays a shrub. Towards the northern limit of its cultivation, it may suffer dieback from very hard freezes, but weathers normal freezes well. Southern Magnolia is the state tree of Mississippi.
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