Umbrella Magnolia
Magnolia tripetala
Found in moist forests, ravines. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
71
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 15–30 feet
- Spread
- 15–30 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 22.5 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
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Spring
- Fruiting season
- July to October
Recorded in 43 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 137 animals.
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
24CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 hortariaTulip-Tree Beauty
- Episimus tyriusMaple Tip Borer
- Euzophera ostricolorellaTulip-Tree Borer, Root Collar borer
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
Show all 24
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Laetilia coccidivoraScale-Feeding Snout
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Morrisonia latexFluid Arches, Fluid Mamestra
- 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
- Archips magnoliana
- Paralobesia magnoliana
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Magnoliaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Cream or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- 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 · “July” · 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 5a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “15–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · 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 neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “15–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Umbrella Tree
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- 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