Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
Found in maritime forests and thickets; floodplain and bottomland forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 60–80 feet
- Spread
- 30–50 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 30 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- September to October
Recorded in 56 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
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 Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 155 animals.
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Black-whiskered VireoVireo altiloquus
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Fulvous Whistling-duckDendrocygna bicolor
- Gray KingbirdTyrannus dominicensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
Who uses this plant?
25CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Magnolia
- Callosamia prometheaPromethea Moth
- Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Callosamia anguliferaTulip-Tree Silkmoth
- Callosamia securiferaSweetbay Silkmoth, Carolina Silk Moth
- Cameraria hamadryadellaSolitary Oak Leafminer Moth
- Epimecis detextaAvacado Spanworm Moth
- Epimecis hortariaTulip-Tree Beauty
- Episimus tyriusMaple Tip Borer
- Euzophera magnolialisMagnolia Borer
Show all 25
- Euzophera ostricolorellaTulip-Tree Borer, Root Collar borer
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Laetilia coccidivoraScale-Feeding Snout
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papilio palamedesPalamedes Swallowtail
- Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail, Celery Caterpillar, Fennel Worm, Desert Black Swallowtail, Parsnip Swallowtail
- Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
- Paralobesia cyclopianaSweetbay Seedpod Moth
- Paralobesia liriodendranaTulip-Tree Leaftier
- Phyllocnistis liriodendronellaMagnolia Serpentine Leafminer
- Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
- Paralobesia magnoliana
- Paralobesia parsaura
7BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Magnolia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist 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
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
| Florida rank | S4S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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