The genus Magnolia contains about 80 species native to North America [8], West Indies [8], and Asia [50]. The genus Magnolia is dedicated to Pierre Magnol (16381715), professor of botany and medicine and director of the botanic garden at Montpellier, France. The name virginiana means “of Virginia.”
Other Common Names: arbre du castor, bat-tree, bay, bay-tree, beaver tree, big laurel, black lin, bullbay, cucumberwood, evergreen magnolia, Indian bark, laurel magnolia, magnolia, magnolia de virginie, magnolia virginiana, magnolier bleu, magnolier des marais, mountain magnolia, quinquina virginie, small magnolia, Southern magnolia, southern sassafras, southern sweetbay, swampbay, swamp laurel, swamp magnolia, swamp sassafras, sweet bay, sweetbay magnolia, sweet magnolia, Virginia magnolia, virginische magnolia, whitebay, white laurel.
Distribution: North America, along the coastal plain from Long Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, south to Florida, west to Texas, and north to Arkansas and Tennessee. Also occurs in eastern Massachusetts.
The Tree: Sweetbay grows in wet, sandy soil along
streams, bottom lands and swamps. It is deciduous and shrubby
in the northern parts of its range, but evergreen in the south.
Sweetbay is slow-growing and flowers in spring. It grows in association
with redbay, maples, holly and loblolly bay. It reaches heights
of 80 ft (24 m), with a diameter of 1.5 ft
(0.5 m). The gray to gray-brown bark is thin, smooth, and irregularly
furrowed as a result of plates. The bark is also aromatic.
General Wood Characteristics: The wood is
soft and pale brown, with a brown,
aromatic heartwood, and is straight grained.
Weighta
Weight
Moisture Specific lb/ft3 kg/m3
content gravity
Green 0.42 NA NA
12% NA 29 465
Ovendry 0.48 NA NA
aReference (90).
Mechanical propertiesa
Property Green Dry
MOE NA NA 1.64 106 11.308 GPa
lbf/in2
MOR NA NA 10.92 103 75.293 MPa
lbf/in2
C| | NA NA 5.68 103 39.164 MPa
lbf/in2
C NA NA 0.56 103 3.861 MPa
lbf/in2
WML NA NA NA NA
Hardness NA NA NA NA
Shear| | NA NA 1.68 103 11.583 MPa
lbf/in2
aReference (90).
Drying and shrinkagea
Percentage of shrinkage
(green to final moisture
content)
Type of 0% MC 6% MC 20% MC
shrinkage
Tangential 8.3 NA NA
Radial 4.7 NA NA
Volumetric 12.9 NA NA
aReference (90).
Kiln drying schedulea
4/4, 5/4, 8/4 10/4 12/4 16/4
Conditio 6/4 stock stock stock stock
n stock
Standard T10-D4 T8-D3 NA NA NA
aReferences (6, 86).
Working Properties: It is easily worked and finishes well.
Durability: Rated as slightly or nonresistant to heartwood decay.
Preservation: No information available at this time.
Uses: Lumber, veneer, furniture, boxes and containers.
Toxicity: No information available at this time.
Additional Reading: 29, 55, 68, 74. 55, 66, 68, 74, 79. 28, 29, 42, 43, 44, 48, 50, 55, 56, 68, 72, 73, 74, 79, 92, 97, 102. 74, 75, 77, 99, 106. 101.