Louisiana State Flower: Magnolia

Adopted in 1900.

The state flower of Louisiana is the magnolia. Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), also called evergreen magnolia, bull-bay, big-laurel, or large-flower magnolia, has large fragrant white flowers and evergreen leaves that make it one of the most splendid of forest trees and a very popular ornamental that has been planted around the world.

Magnolias commonly grown in the United States are of two kinds - native and Asian. Native magnolias bloom from late spring to summer and have white, yellowish, or green flowers. Asian magnolias bloom in early to late spring andhave white, pink, or reddish-purple to purple flowers. Native magnolias are evergreen or deciduous (leaf shedding); Asian magnolias grown in cultivation are deciduous.

Size: - 60 to 80 feet in height with a spread of about 30 to 50 feet. There are numerous cultivars, and there can be variation between seedlings. Grows at about a medium rate with a pyramidal habit. Generally branched to the ground and best left this way since growing anything under them is futile.

Leaf: Alternate, simple, pinnately veined and evergreen, 5 to 8 inches long, oval in shape with an entire margin. Very waxy/shiny above, and reddish tomentose below.

Flower: Creamy white, sweet lemony fragrance, 6" to 12" in diameter. Flowering begins in late May-early June and continues sporadically all summer. Trees grown from seed generally start flowering within 10 years. Fruit is a pinkish red aggregate of folicles about 5" in length, splitting open in the late summer to expose the dark red seeds.

Fruit: An aggregate of follicles, green changing to red, cylindrical, 3 to 5 inches long with red seeds, 1/2 inch long. Maturing October to November.

Twig: Stout, with white to rusty tomentum and a long (1 to 1 1/2 inches) silky white to rusty red terminal bud.

Bark: Brown to gray, thin, smooth/lenticellate when young, later with close plates or scales.

Form: A medium-sized tree with a pyramidal crown. When open grown, the crown is dense with low branches.