Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in floodplain and bottomland forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 60–80 feet
- Spread
- 30–50 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- September to October
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Recorded in 20 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 80 animals.
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
Widespread birds also seen here (60)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-crowned Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Magnolia
- Callosamia prometheaPromethea Moth
- Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Callosamia anguliferaTulip-Tree Silkmoth
- Epimecis hortariaTulip-Tree Beauty
- Episimus tyriusMaple Tip Borer
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Laetilia coccidivoraScale-Feeding Snout
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
Show all 16
- Morrisonia latexFluid Arches, Fluid Mamestra
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail, Celery Caterpillar, Fennel Worm, Desert Black Swallowtail, Parsnip Swallowtail
- Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
- Paralobesia cyclopianaSweetbay Seedpod Moth
- Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Magnolia
- Campephilus principalisIvory-billed Woodpecker
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
1AntsRecorded seed interactions
- Pogonomyrmex badius
Pogonomyrmex badius: Seed predation.
No records yet · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Magnoliaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Cream or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Cream or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “60–80 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “30–50 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Evergreen Magnolia
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications