Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: Bigleaf Magnolia

Family: Magnoliaceae

Distribution: SE USA

Habitat: Alluvial woods and sheltered valleys

IUCN Red list: Least concern

Hardiness: Zone 6b -5 to 0 F

Life form: Deciduous tree

Usage: Ornamental flowering tree

Comments: Bigleaf magnolia is noted for its huge oblong-obovate leaves to 30 inches long which are the largest simple leaves of any tree indigenous to North America. Leaves are green above and silvery-gray below. This unusual tree is rarely found in the wild, being limited mainly to a few rich wooded areas in river valleys and ravines in the southeastern United States. It is a pyramidal tree that develops a spreading rounded crown with age, typically growing 30-40’ tall. Fragrant, open, cup-shaped flowers to 8-10” wide bloom in May. Flowers are white with rose-purple at the petal bases. Although quite large, the flowers are often located far off the ground and are not always easy to see close up. Flowers give way to spherical cone-like fruits which mature to red in late summer, releasing individual red coated seeds suspended on slender threads at maturity.
Best grown in moist, organically rich, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade