Details Top

Internal ID UUID643fe242cf0eb148018194
Scientific name Magnolia virginiana
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl. : 535 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

Suggest a correction!
Important notice
  • Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
  • Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
  • Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
  • Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.

Among the Cherokee of the southeastern United States, an infusion of the inner bark of Magnolia virginiana was taken for fever and colic, while a tea of the leaves was also used for colds and fevers (Moerman, 1998; KSNJ, 1995). The Houma in Louisiana employed a similar bark infusion for colic and stomach complaints (Swanton, 1928; Moerman, 1998). In the Caribbean, the Taino prepared a bark infusion as a general tonic and digestive aid, and European colonists in the 18th–19th centuries noted the bark’s warm infusion for fever and dyspepsia (Smith, 1893; Millspaugh, 1892). Across these regions the preparations were straightforward: a handful of fresh or dried bark boiled briefly in water, then cooled and drunk warm for pain relief; leaf infusions were simply steeped in hot water and taken as a calming cold remedy.

A practical bark tincture is made by macerating 100 g of dried, chipped bark in 500 mL of 45–50% ethanol for 4–6 weeks in a dark container, shaking daily, then straining; use is typically 1–2 mL diluted in water two or three times daily. Magnolia bark contains phenolic lignans such as honokiol and magnolol along with volatile oils rich in eucalyptol and α‑pinene; the warm, slightly bitter infusion is thought to be responsible for the traditional fever‑relieving and colic‑soothing effects observed by Native Caribbean and North American healers. Safety notes: use cautious, short‑term dosing and avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding; magnolol and honokiol can have sedative and uterine‑stimulating properties, and the tincture is not for children.

Modern relevance remains high. Ongoing laboratory studies explore honokiol and magnolol for anti‑inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anxiolytic activity, while the dried bark continues to be sold by reputable herbal suppliers for preparation of tinctures and teas.

General Uses Top

Suggest a correction!

Fragrance and cosmetics:
Leaf and twig essential oil is obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Reported major constituents include linalool, 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol), germacrene D, β-elemene, and α-pinene. The oil is used as a fragrance material in perfumery and is employed by fragrance manufacturers as a minor note in fragrance compositions.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Magnolia virginiana var. pumila Nutt. Amer. J. Sci. Arts 5: 295. 1822
Magnolia virginiana var. longifolia Aiton Hort. Kew. 2: 251. 1789
Magnolia glauca var. pumila Nutt.
Magnolia glauca var. longifolia Pursh

Common names Top

Add a new one! Suggest a correction!

Language Common/alternative name
English beavertail
English laurel magnolia
English beaver tree
English swamp magnolia
English swampbay
English sweet bay
English sweetbay
English sweetbay magnolia
English sweet magnolia
English swamp laurel
English swamp bay
English white bay
Arabic مجنوليا
Arabic سفراس
Arabic مانوليا
Arabic المنغولية
Arabic ماغنوليا فرجينية
Azerbaijani virciniya maqnoliyası
azb ویرجینیا ماقنولیاسی
Czech magnólie viržinská
Czech šácholan viržinský
German sumpf-magnolie
Persian مگنولیا ویرجینیایی
Hungarian illatos liliomfa
Hungarian virginiai magnólia
Japanese バージニアモクレン
Japanese ヒメタイサンボク
koi Виргинияись магнолия
Russian Магнолия виргинская
Swedish virginiamagnolia
udm Виргиниысь магнолия
Chinese 北美木兰
Chinese 白背玉兰

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

Add a new one! Suggest a correction!
Name Authority First published in
Magnolia virginiana subsp. oviedoae Palmarola, M.S.Romanov & A.V.Bobrov Willdenowia 38: 547 (2008)
Magnolia virginiana subsp. virginiana Unknown

Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

Add a new one! Suggest a correction!
Name Authority First published in
Magnolia virginiana var. australis Sarg. Bot. Gaz. 67: 231 (1919)

Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

Add a new one! Suggest a correction!
No subvariety added yet.

Forms (abbr. f.) Top

Add a new one! Suggest a correction!
No forms added yet.

Germination/Propagation Top

Suggest a correction or add new data!
Expose seeds to natural outdoor winter conditions for 3 months, then gradually increase light and temperature in the spring.
Sow seeds immediately as their viability decreases rapidly, or they best germinate when fresh. If stored, seeds might need temperature cycling and patience to germinate.
remove pulpy coat with detergent washes; germination unlikely if dried by just 20%, store seeds @ 4°C

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Northern America
    • Northeastern U.S.A.
      • Massachusetts
      • New Jersey
      • New York
      • Pennsylvania
    • South-central U.S.A.
      • Texas
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Alabama
      • Arkansas
      • Delaware
      • District Of Columbia
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Louisiana
      • Maryland
      • Mississippi
      • North Carolina
      • South Carolina
      • Tennessee
      • Virginia

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000233456
Florida Plant Atlas 3669
Flora of Alabama 2602
Cornell Woody Plants 148
USDA Plants MAVI2
UConn 279
Tropicos 19300037
INPN 159726
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30016308-2
The Plant List kew-117883
Missouri Botanical Garden 282522
PFAF Magnolia virginiana
Open Tree Of Life 863066
Observations.org 461060
NCBI Taxonomy 3412
Nature Serve 2.144735
IUCN Red List 194018
IPNI 30016308-2
iNaturalist 127906
GBIF 3153639
Freebase /m/02h0tm
FEIS plants/tree/magvir
EPPO MAGVI
EOL 1154909
Elurikkus 366337
USDA GRIN 23150
Wikipedia Magnolia_virginiana

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
Accession Assembly
Name Level Submitter Released Coverage Size
GCA_025802435.1 ASM2580243v1 Scaffold Iridian Genomes 2022-10-23 90 516.84 Mb

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
How Seeds Attract and Protect: Seed Coat Development of Magnolia Feng Q, Cai M, Li H, Zhang X Plants (Basel) 29-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10934539
doi:10.3390/plants13050688
PMID:38475534
Do DEEPER ROOTING 1 Homologs Regulate the Lateral Root Slope Angle in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)? Kiryushkin AS, Ilina EL, Kiikova TY, Pawlowski K, Demchenko KN Int J Mol Sci 06-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10888659
doi:10.3390/ijms25041975
PMID:38396652
Pest categorisation of Diaprepes abbreviatus Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Grégoire J, Malumphy C, Kertesz V, Maiorano A, MacLeod A EFSA J 15-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10648563
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8318
PMID:38027434
Twenty-Seven Year Response of South Carolina Coastal Plain Forests Affected by Hurricane Hugo Heaton R, Song B, Williams T, Conner W, Baucom Z, Williams B Plants (Basel) 04-Feb-2023
PMCID:PMC9967406
doi:10.3390/plants12040691
PMID:36840040
Screening the PRISM Library against Staphylococcus aureus Reveals a Sesquiterpene Lactone from Liriodendron tulipifera with Inhibitory Activity Kirk RD, Rosario ME, Oblie N, Jouaneh TM, Carro MA, Wu C, Kim AM, Leibovitz E, Hunter ES, Literman R, Handy SM, Rowley DC, Bertin MJ ACS Omega 30-Sep-2022
PMCID:PMC9558601
doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c03539
PMID:36249352
Physicochemical properties and homology studies of the floral meristem identity gene LFY in nonflowering and flowering plants Thekkeveedu RP, Hegde S BioTechnologia (Pozn) 29-Jun-2022
PMCID:PMC9642948
doi:10.5114/bta.2022.116205
PMID:36606070
Testing a generalized leaf mass estimation method for diverse tree species and climates of the continental United States Dettmann GT, MacFarlane DW, Radtke PJ, Weiskittel AR, Affleck DL, Poudel KP, Westfall J Ecol Appl 16-Jun-2022
PMCID:PMC9787613
doi:10.1002/eap.2646
PMID:35524985
Commodity risk assessment of Acer palmatum plants grafted on Acer davidii from China Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Gonthier P EFSA J 12-May-2022
PMCID:PMC9096882
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7298
PMID:35592020
Insect infestations and the persistence and functioning of oak-pine mixedwood forests in the mid-Atlantic region, USA Clark KL, Aoki C, Ayres M, Kabrick J, Gallagher MR PLoS One 04-May-2022
PMCID:PMC9067937
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0265955
PMID:35507583
First Report of Native Parasitoids of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Greece Andreadis SS, Gogolashvili NE, Fifis GT, Navrozidis EI, Thomidis T Insects 31-Oct-2021
PMCID:PMC8624063
doi:10.3390/insects12110984
PMID:34821785
Advanced Computational Methodologies Used in the Discovery of New Natural Anticancer Compounds Chavda VP, Ertas YN, Walhekar V, Modh D, Doshi A, Shah N, Anand K, Chhabria M Front Pharmacol 17-Aug-2021
PMCID:PMC8416109
doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.702611
PMID:34483905
Belowground productivity varies by assessment technique, vegetation type, and nutrient availability in tidal freshwater forested wetlands transitioning to marsh From AS, Krauss KW, Noe GB, Cormier N, Stagg CL, Moss RF, Whitbeck JL PLoS One 16-Jul-2021
PMCID:PMC8284669
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253554
PMID:34270570
Winter roost selection of Lasiurine tree bats in a pyric landscape Jorge MH, Ford WM, Sweeten SE, Freeze SR, True MC, St. Germain MJ, Taylor H, Gorman KM, Garrison EP, Cherry MJ PLoS One 09-Feb-2021
PMCID:PMC7872277
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245695
PMID:33561128
Resource Selection by Wild and Ranched White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (EHDV) Transmission Season in Florida Dinh ET, Orange JP, Peters RM, Wisely SM, Blackburn JK Animals (Basel) 16-Jan-2021
PMCID:PMC7830392
doi:10.3390/ani11010211
PMID:33467117
Long-term effects of catastrophic wind on southern US coastal forests: Lessons from a major hurricane Sharma A, Ojha SK, Dimov LD, Vogel JG, Nowak J PLoS One 06-Jan-2021
PMCID:PMC7787386
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0243362
PMID:33406083

Phytochemical Profile Top

Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Benzenoids / Benzene and substituted derivatives / Biphenyls and derivatives
4-Methoxyhonokiol 155160 Click to see 280.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(91)83612-O
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993237
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02040088
Honokiol 72303 Click to see 266.30 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2006-958051
Magnolol 72300 Click to see C=CCC1=CC(=C(C=C1)O)C2=C(C=CC(=C2)CC=C)O 266.30 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(91)83612-O
https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2006-958051
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993237
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02040088
> Benzenoids / Benzene and substituted derivatives / Diphenylethers
Phenol, 2-[3-hydroxy-4-(2-propenyl)phenoxy]-5-(2-propenyl)- 10016628 Click to see 282.30 unknown https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02040088
https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(91)83612-O
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Sesquiterpenoids / Germacrane sesquiterpenoids
(2R,3aS,6Z,10Z,11aR)-2-[[(2R,3aS,6Z,10Z,11aR)-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-yl]oxy]-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan 162961955 Click to see 450.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(2S,3aS,6Z,10E,11aS)-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-ol 162981569 Click to see 234.33 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(2S,3aS,6Z,10Z,11aR)-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-ol 163191300 Click to see 234.33 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
2-[(6,10-Dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-yl)oxy]-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan 162961954 Click to see 450.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
6,10-Dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-ol 162981568 Click to see 234.33 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Terpene lactones / Sesquiterpene lactones / Germacranolides and derivatives
(+)-Costunolide; Costus lactone 12304109 Click to see CC1=CCCC(=CC2C(CC1)C(=C)C(=O)O2)C 232.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(1S,2R,4R,7E,11R)-4,8-dimethyl-12-methylidene-3,14-dioxatricyclo[9.3.0.02,4]tetradec-7-en-13-one 124463365 Click to see CC1=CCCC2(C(O2)C3C(CC1)C(=C)C(=O)O3)C 248.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(1S,2S,4S,11S)-4,8-dimethyl-12-methylidene-3,14-dioxatricyclo[9.3.0.02,4]tetradec-7-en-13-one 927706 Click to see 248.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(1S,2S,4S,7Z,11S)-4,8-dimethyl-12-methylidene-3,14-dioxatricyclo[9.3.0.02,4]tetradec-7-en-13-one 5420807 Click to see 248.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(3aS,6E,11aR)-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-one 133640194 Click to see 232.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
(3aS,6Z,10Z,11aR)-6,10-dimethyl-3-methylidene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-one 5458201 Click to see 232.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
6,10-Dimethyl-3-methylene-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-one 556919 Click to see 232.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02975104
Costunolide 5281437 Click to see 232.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02975104
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
Parthenolide 7251185 Click to see CC1=CCCC2(C(O2)C3C(CC1)C(=C)C(=O)O3)C 248.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Terpene lactones / Sesquiterpene lactones / Guaianolides and derivatives
(3aS,6R,6aS,9aR,9bS)-6-hydroxy-6-methyl-3,9-dimethylidene-3a,4,5,6a,7,8,9a,9b-octahydroazuleno[4,5-b]furan-2-one 101967028 Click to see 248.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3
6-Hydroxy-6-methyl-3,9-dimethylidene-3a,4,5,6a,7,8,9a,9b-octahydroazuleno[4,5-b]furan-2-one 163010355 Click to see 248.32 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00412-3

Gallery Top

We don't have an image yet. Upload an image!

Contributors Top

No known contributors. Be the first!

Collections Top

In private collections 0
In public collections 0
You need to be authenticated in order to add this taxon to a personal collection.