Mississippi State Tree: Southern Magnolia

Mississippi recognizes the Southern Magnolia as its official state tree. This broadleaf evergreen grows 60 to 80 feet tall in Mississippi, though exceptional specimens can reach 100 feet. The trunk measures two to three feet in diameter at maturity. Unlike most Mississippi trees, magnolia keeps its glossy dark green leaves year-round, providing constant color in the landscape. The tree's evergreen nature made it especially valued for Southern landscapes where it maintained beauty through winter months. Mississippi's warm climate provides ideal conditions for Southern Magnolia, allowing the species to thrive throughout the state from the Gulf Coast to northern counties.

The leaves provide the tree's most striking feature. Each leaf measures five to ten inches long and two to four inches wide. The upper surface appears glossy dark green and leathery. The underside shows a rusty brown color covered with fine hairs. The thick leathery leaves resist damage and last two years before dropping. Large white flowers bloom from May through summer, measuring eight to twelve inches across. The flowers produce an intensely sweet fragrance that perfumes the air around Mississippi magnolias. Each flower has six to twelve thick, waxy petals surrounding a cone-like center.

Southern magnolia grows wild in Mississippi forests and swamps, particularly in southern counties. The tree thrives on moist, acidic soils throughout the state. Mississippi's natural magnolia groves grow in bottomlands along rivers and streams. The species also adapts well to cultivation, making it Mississippi's most planted ornamental tree. Historic plantations, college campuses, and town squares across Mississippi feature prominent magnolias. The tree tolerates Mississippi's humid summers and mild winters better than most evergreens. Native wildlife feeds on magnolia seeds, including squirrels, turkey, and numerous songbirds.

The official name is Southern Magnolia, distinguishing it from other magnolia species found across North America. Mississippians often call it simply magnolia or bull bay, an old Southern name. The scientific name Magnolia grandiflora honors French botanist Pierre Magnol and describes the large flowers - grandiflora means 'large-flowered' in Latin. The genus name Magnolia applies to about 210 species worldwide, though Southern Magnolia is the most prominent in Mississippi.

The common name 'bull bay' comes from the tree's habitat in bay swamps and bays along the Gulf Coast. Some old-timers call it evergreen magnolia to distinguish it from deciduous magnolia species. In antebellum Mississippi, people called distinctive trees 'yard magnolias' when planted near homes. The species belongs to the Magnoliaceae family, one of the most ancient flowering plant families. Fossil evidence shows magnolias existed before bees evolved - beetles originally pollinated these primitive flowers.

Mississippi declared the Southern Magnolia as its official state tree on April 1, 1938. The Mississippi Legislature passed Senate Bill 270 during the 1938 session. The legislation established both the magnolia tree and magnolia blossom as state symbols. This dual designation makes Mississippi unique - the state tree and state flower come from the same species. Mississippi became the first state to designate magnolia as an official symbol, though Louisiana later adopted it as state flower in 1900.

Mississippi picked Southern Magnolia because it epitomizes the state's Deep South character. The tree appears throughout Mississippi's cultural landscape - on antebellum plantations, around historic homes, and in town squares across the state. Magnolias shade Mississippi college campuses including the University of Mississippi, where ancient magnolias create one of the South's most beautiful settings. The tree's evergreen foliage and showy flowers represent the lush vegetation and temperate climate that distinguish Mississippi from northern states. The magnolia became an emblem of Southern culture, appearing in literature, art, and architecture associated with Mississippi and the South.

The tree held practical and symbolic importance for Mississippi families. Plantation owners planted magnolias as symbols of permanence and gentility. The large glossy leaves made natural decorations for Mississippi homes during holidays. Magnolia wood provided lumber for furniture and interior finishing in Mississippi houses, though never as commercially important as pine or hardwoods. The fragrant flowers perfumed summer evenings across Mississippi, creating sensory memories tied to place and home. Mississippi writers like Eudora Welty and William Faulkner referenced magnolias in works depicting the state. This combination of visual beauty, cultural significance, and widespread presence made Southern Magnolia the inevitable choice when Mississippi formalized its state tree designation. The magnolia represented everything Mississippi wanted to project about itself - beauty, tradition, and Southern identity.

Mississippi's state flower is also the Magnolia blossom, designated alongside the tree in 1938. This makes Mississippi unique among all states - the tree and flower both come from the Southern Magnolia. The Legislature recognized that the magnolia's spectacular blooms deserved separate acknowledgment as the state flower. The large white waxy flowers with their intense fragrance represent Mississippi's natural beauty. The glossy evergreen foliage represents permanence and strength. Together, the magnolia tree and blossom encompass Mississippi's identity more completely than separate symbols could. The dual designation demonstrates how central magnolia is to Mississippi culture and landscape.

The leaves provide instant recognition. Look for large glossy dark green leaves measuring five to ten inches long. The upper surface shines like polished leather. Flip a leaf over to see the rusty brown underside covered with fine fuzzy hairs. The leaves feel thick and stiff, quite different from thin deciduous tree leaves. The evergreen foliage persists year-round, making magnolia easy to identify even in winter when other Mississippi trees stand bare. Young leaves emerge covered in rusty brown hairs on both sides before the upper surface becomes glossy green.

The flowers bloom from May through summer in Mississippi. Each massive bloom measures eight to twelve inches across, among the largest flowers of any tree. Six to twelve thick waxy white petals surround a cone-like center packed with stamens and pistils. The flowers emerge at branch tips. Fresh blooms appear pure white, gradually turning cream-colored before browning. The intense sweet fragrance carries on Mississippi summer breezes. Spent flowers leave cone-like seed pods that mature to brown, opening to reveal bright red seeds in fall.

The overall form shows a pyramidal shape when young, becoming more rounded and spreading with age. Low branches sweep nearly to the ground on open-grown Mississippi magnolias. The trunk is typically straight and divides into several major limbs. The bark appears smooth and gray on young trees, developing shallow furrows and a somewhat scaly texture with age but never becoming deeply furrowed. The dense evergreen crown casts deep shade year-round. In Mississippi landscapes, magnolias often grow as broad specimen trees rather than forest trees, displaying the full pyramidal to rounded form.

Southern Magnolia embodies Mississippi's Deep South heritage and cultural identity. The tree symbolizes the genteel traditions of antebellum Mississippi, evoking images of columned mansions and gracious hospitality. The evergreen foliage represents endurance through changing times. For many Mississippians, magnolia fragrance evokes powerful memories of home, family, and place. The tree appears so frequently in Mississippi literature and culture that magnolia and Mississippi became inseparable. The species represents both the natural beauty of Mississippi's landscape and the cultural traditions that distinguish the state. Modern Mississippi continues honoring the magnolia's symbolic importance through conservation and planting, ensuring future generations experience this iconic tree.