Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gordonia lasianthus
FAMILY
Theaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
This is one of the characteristic broadleaf trees of extensive pocosins and bays.... Though evergreen, normally you can spot a few red leaves on the trees, at any season. Read more about Loblolly Bay at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Gordonia is one of the "bay trees" so typical of acid Coastal Plain wetlands of our area – the other two being Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginiana of the Magnoliaceae) and Swamp Red Bay (Tamala palustris of the Lauraceae). Gordonia can be distinguished from the other two species by its smooth leaves, serrate toward the tip, odorless when crushed (vs. pubescent leaves, entire-margined, aromatic when crushed), per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gordonia lasianthus
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Gordonia lasianthus
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 124-02-001:
Gordonia lasianthus FAMILY Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gordonia lasianthus
COMMON NAME:
Loblolly Bay, Gordonia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_783
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gola_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_gola_002_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_lasianthus_74867
June St. Johns County FL
Fourmile Swamp
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_lasianthus_74877
June St. Johns County FL
Fourmile Swamp
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_lasianthus_74881
June St. Johns County FL
Fourmile Swamp
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_lasianthus_74883
June St. Johns County FL
Fourmile Swamp
Has a distinctly narrow and spire-like crown (much like a cedar at a distance), per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmglasinianthu_sebring2
June Polk County FL
Leaves glabrous, dark green, with blunt appressed teeth, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_lasianthus_8
July
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_gordonia_lasianthus4b
July
)
John B. Nelson jbn_7762085352_06e1d987c6
August
The petals are minutely fringed. Has anybody noticed that?. — John Nelson
)
John B. Nelson jbn_7762085352_1c11cd7d1c
August
Flowers about 3" across with a ringed mass of bright yellow stamens, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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Keith Bradley kab_g_lasianthus_9593
December Marion County SC
Little Pee Dee Heritage Preserve
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmglasinianthus_wl2
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gordonia lasianthus
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gordonia lasianthus
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Gordonia lasianthus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 124-02-001:
Gordonia lasianthus
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gordonia lasianthus
624
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: pocosins, bayheads, acidic, organic-rich swamp forests, wet pine savannas, bay forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
Bisexual
5 persistent sepals
5 petals
Numerous stamens, adnate to the petals
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p161
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p035
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p311
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p118
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p095
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p328
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p218
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p119
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p152
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p156
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p241