Sweetbay magnolia, whose botanical name is magnolia virginiana, is an evergreen or deciduous tree up to 30 m tall.
Also called simply sweetbay (also laurel magnolia, swampbay, swamp magnolia, white bay, or beaver tree), it is native to the lowlands and wetlands of the Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, from Florida to Long Island, New York.
The leaves are simple (not lobed or pinnate) and alternate, with the whole margin, about 6-12 cm long and 3-5 cm wide.
The flowers have 6 to 15 petal-like strands, are milky white in color, and are about 8 to 14 cm in diameter.
These flowers have a very strong vanilla scent that can be smelled from several hundred meters away.
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