Southern Magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora · Magnoliaceae · 태산목

How to spot it

Large glossy evergreen leathery leaves, brown-hairy leaf undersides, and large fragrant white flowers.

Look

Leaves: Large leathery leaves are glossy dark green above and have brownish hairs beneath.
Flowers: Large, fragrant, creamy white flowers.
Fruit: Brown, cone-like clusters of follicles; when ripe, red seeds hang from thin red threads.
Bark: Young bark is smooth, brown to gray; with age it becomes plated or scaly.

Where it grows

In Korea: Planted
Native to: Native to the southeastern United States, in wet lowlands and forests from North Carolina to Florida and Texas.
Ecology: Found in wet forests and lowlands of the southeastern United States; the evergreen crown gives winter shelter and birds and small mammals eat the seeds.

Sources