Magnolia

Sweetbay magnolia is a tree of the magnolia family that can reach 30 metres, evergreen in the milder south of its range and semi-evergreen or deciduous further north. It is native to the lowlands and swamps of the Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, from Florida to Long Island, with an outlying stand on Cape Ann in Massachusetts and a subspecies found only in Cuba's Matanzas Province, and it copes with both flood and drought. Its leaves are silvery beneath, its smooth grey bark is faintly scented like bay laurel, and in late spring or early summer it opens creamy white, strongly vanilla-scented flowers, followed by pinkish-red fruits whose black seeds wear a red coat that birds eat. It was the first magnolia described under modern botanical rules and is the type species of its genus; John Banister collected it in 1678 and it became the first magnolia grown in England. Gardeners plant it for its scented flowers, clean foliage and quick growth. Kynes notes that the Cherokee, Choctaw and Houma used magnolia medicinally. In magical practice magnolia placed by or beneath the bed is meant to hold a couple faithful, Kynes makes a love sachet of the dried leaves, and a seedpod near where a couple sleeps is meant to deepen romance.