Genus
Magnolia
The Magnolia genus in the Plotwright catalog — 2 species: Southern magnolia, Sweetbay magnolia. Open any for hardiness, native range, wildlife value, and growing guidance.
Magnolia grandiflora
Southern magnolia
A large evergreen tree of the southeastern US coastal plain with thick glossy oblong leaves (rusty undersides), enormous (8-12 inch) creamy-white cup-shaped fragrant flowers in late spring through summer, and conspicuous red-seeded cone-like fruit in fall. Beetle-pollinated — the magnolia genus evolved before bees existed and retains the ancient beetle-pollination relationship documented per NC State. Year-round leaf drop and dense canopy mean almost nothing grows beneath; site with that constraint accepted.
Magnolia virginiana
Sweetbay magnolia
A native semi-evergreen (deciduous in cold zones, evergreen in southern zones) magnolia of eastern North American swamps + wet woods with fragrant creamy-white cup-shaped flowers from late spring through summer. More moisture-tolerant + smaller than southern magnolia; well-suited to rain gardens, stream edges, and consistently moist landscape sites. Beetle-pollinated like all magnolias.