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NAME: Sweet Bay Magnolia

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Magnolia Virginiana / Magnoliaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): 

CONDITIONS: shady, sandy, wet, swampy
 

PARTS:	EDIBLE	TASTE	RAW/COOK	SEASON
All
Shoots
Leaves			COOK	ALL
Stalk/Stem
Buds
Flowers
Fruits
Pods
Seeds
Nuts
Roots
Bark

 

PORTION: small
 

COMMENT:  Sweetbay is the only native magnolia in PA area, to my knowledge. It is an evergreen, closely related to the Southern Magnolia. // The leaves are used as a condiment in gravies etc (1).  Leaves can be used to make a tea or use like a 'bay leaf' to flavor soups and stews or make a marinade.(2) In other varieties the flowers are edible if pickled. See more info below.

CAUTION: The leaves or bark have been placed in cupped hands over the nose and inhaled as a mild hallucinogen.(1)

Magnolia Virginiana flowers are considered not edible. However other varieties are:

• https://essentialgardenguide.com/are-magnolia-flowers-edible
• https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/list-of-edible-magnolia-flowers
• https://www.diegobonetto.com/blog/magnificent-magnolias-and-how-to-eat-them
• Saucer Magnolias are a common landscape tree in our area, although not native and do not naturalize, their petals are edible: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/aug/21/pickled-magnolias-springs-first-flowers-are-edible-with-a-potent-spicy-kick
  
  

Are Magnolia Flowers Poisonous to Humans? Magnolia flowers are not poisonous to human beings. Some people believe that the southern magnolia flowers are not edible, which is invalid. These flowers are edible, but their flavor is quite intense, and their taste is just like their smell. Also, you cannot eat them raw; you need to pickle them. You also cannot eat the entire southern magnolia blossom but only the petals.  It would help to use the sweet/sour pickle recipe. Please take out the petals, dice them, and use them to flavor salads. The flavor will be too strong, so you have to go easy with your pickles.(4)

 

NUTRITION / MEDICINAL:  A tea made from the bark is antiperiodic, aromatic, diaphoretic, laxative, stimulant and tonic. It has historically been used as a substitute for quinine in the treatment of malaria and is also taken internally in the treatment of colds, bronchial diseases, upper respiratory tract infections, rheumatism and gout. The bark has been chewed by people trying to break the tobacco habit. The bark is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. It does not store well so stocks should be renewed annually. A tea made from the fruit is a tonic, used in the treatment of general debility and was formerly esteemed in the treatment of stomach ailments. The leaves or bark have been placed in cupped hands over the nose and inhaled as a mild hallucinogen.(1)  For magnolias in general, although would take this info with caution since it doesn't differentiate between species - https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/magnolia.html

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:  

 

RELATED: related to Tulip Poplar and Paw Paw

• https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Magnolia+acuminata Cucumber magnolia

• https://pfaf.org/user/search_name.aspx?family=Magnoliaceae 

• http://www.treesforme.com/pa_magnoliaceae.html
• http://www.treesforme.com/magnoliaceae_magnolia_family.htm

OTHER USES: An essential oil from the flowers has been used in the manufacture of perfumes. Wood - straight-grained, light, soft, easily worked, finishes well, aromatic and yellow in colour. It weighs 31lb per cubic foot. Used for furniture, broom handles, bowls and light woodenware articles etc. (1)

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

 

1. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Magnolia+virginiana
2. https://www.eattheweeds.com/magnolia-viginiana-how-sweet-it-is-2
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_virginiana
4. https://essentialgardenguide.com/are-magnolia-flowers-edible
5. https://rootnashville.org/sweetbaymagnoliahighlight

 

 

Is it time to rethink Magnolias? The leaves of Magnolia grandiflora can be used like a bay leaf and the blossoms lacto-fermented into a condiment (quite popular in England.) M. grandiflora is not the best leaf in the wild for flavoring, however. That distinction goes to a relative, M. virginana, also known as the Sweet Bay. It’s among the easiest of trees to identify. As I have been making wine lately — see the article below — I pondered making a test gallon of Magnolia Blossom Mead… Magnolia scent and honey…  It temps the senses nicely in theory but… The first point is mead. It’s made from honey and takes a long time to ferment. What materials you have in the mead stay in there for a long time. So, if you are going to add cinnamon you only need to add a little because it all gets extracted over time. I am making some Juniper Berry Mead now. Maybe it will be ready next year. Wine can be much different. If you make a fruit wine the fruit is in the “must” for about a week only. It’s an overlay flavor not the total focus. Wine is today, mead is tomorrow. With Magnolia Blossom Mead in mind I picked 580 grams of M. grandiflora blossoms. As I didn’t want them sitting in the mead for months or years I brought them to boil in a gallon of water then let them cool. The resulting tea was exceptionally bitter and vegetative tasting. Not the best candidate for mead or wine. Plan B: Magnolia Blossoms sparingly might be a good hops replacement in making beer and give a nice nose, too. The bitterness of the M. grandiflora raised another possibility: The Sweet Bay blossoms might be a better choice. That is Plan C. I’ll collect some of those blossom and give them a go. https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-563-june-20-2023