Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Magnoliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Magnolia fraseri
FAMILY
Magnoliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may enjoy reading South Carolina's Native Magnolias by Richard B. Figlar.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read Magnolia fraseri: Slow Dancing With the Beetles from George Ellison and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Fraser Magnolia from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Magnolia fraseri
FAMILY
Magnoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)
Magnolia fraseri
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 080-02-004:
Magnolia fraseri FAMILY Magnoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Magnolia fraseri
COMMON NAME:
Fraser Magnolia, Mountain Magnolia, Earleaf Umbrella-tree, Umbrella Tree
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_382
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_mafr_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_mafr_002_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0402c_07
February Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Terminal buds purplish, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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Ron Lance rwl_mag_fraseri_trunk
March Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm100430_151
April Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
False whorls of leaves at branch tips impart an umbrella-like appearance, per South Carolina's Native Magnolias (Figlar, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm230423_2776
April Spartanburg County SC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmagnfra_1
April
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Patrick D. McMillan pdmmagnfra_2
April
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Patrick D. McMillan pdmmfraseri_234
April-May?
Flowers large and pleasantly scented, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm0505f_36
May Transylvania County NC
Roadside
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JK Marlow jkm110507_249
May Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Flowers are sweet-scented with cream-colored petals and 8-10" across, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_964
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Bark gray, thin, smooth, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_969
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
A canopy species typically in moist rich soils, to 30m in optimum sites, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_442
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_445
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
)
Keith Bradley kab_m_fraseri_73442
May Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Keith Bradley kab_m_fraseri_73465
May Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Ron Lance rwl_mag_fraseri
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Ron Lance rwl_mag_fraseri_habit
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow s040807_a
August Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Leaf blades 10-18" long, 5-8" wide, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Tricia Kyzer tkz_magnolia_cone
August?
Fruit an aggregate of follicles, bright red when mature, glabrous, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
fruits that are an aggregate of follicles
)
JK Marlow jkm0009a_17a
September Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0410i_16
October Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0410l_09
October Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Bark thin, smooth, grayish-brown, becoming slightly scaly, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow s041027_b
October Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Blades obovate to spatulate, conspicuously auriculate at the base, glabrous, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
leaves of Magnolia species
)
JK Marlow jkm201107_8053
November Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
Its large "whorled" leaves eyecatching even in a vibrant medley of fall color.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Magnolia fraseri
FAMILY
Magnoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Magnolia fraseri
FAMILY
Magnoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Magnolia fraseri
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 080-02-004:
Magnolia fraseri
FAMILY
Magnoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Magnolia fraseri
896
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Mesic to dry forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (uncommon in upper Carolina Piedmont, rare in GA Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate, crowded at branch tips & appearing whorled ("umbrella-like")
FLOWER:
Spring
Creamy-white
Usually radially symmetrical
3 sepals
6-12 petals
Numerous stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Aggregate of follicles
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p068
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p048
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p132
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p154
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p250
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p149
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p236
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p108
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p085
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p32
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p244
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p208
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