Also known as a bull bay, the southern magnolia is a tree endemic to the southeastern United States that is popular for growth in warm areas all over the world. Characterized by its large, leathery leaves and white flowers that can grow up to 11 3/4th inches across, it is an evergreen with unique, leathery, light pink to green fruits that split open to reveal bright red seeds. While the fruit and seeds are not edible to humans, they are enjoyed by many varieties of birds and mammals.
Southern magnolia flowers are popularly used in floral arrangements, while the wood is straight-grained, shock resistant, and comes in yellow-white for the sap wood and dark brown for the heartwood, making it beloved by furniture-makers.
Up until 2018, a southern magnolia planted by Andrew Jackson grew at the southern portico of the White House. It was so iconic that it appeared on the back of the twenty-dollar bill, and cuttings of the tree have been given as gifts from the White House. Unfortunately, due to trunk damage done in the 1940s, the tree developed rot and required support by a series of poles and cables. The choice to cut down the tree was made in 2017, as the trunk rot had progressed to the point of danger, but offshoots have been saved to be planted– one of which has been placed at the original spot where the Jackson magnolia stood.
Congressional Cemetery’s southern magnolias stand near the chapel, at the LGBTQ+ section intersection, near the southern side of the cenotaphs, and in other locations in the cemetery. They are some of HCC’s oldest documented trees, as they are fully grown (and thus at least 20 years old) in photographs from 1913.
WITNESS TREE: This tree has lived for over a century and has been a witness to cemetery history.CULTIVAR: “Bracken’s Brown Beauty”
FAMILY: Magnoliaceae
NATIVE STATUS: Native
NATIVE RANGE: Southeastern United States
FOLIAGE: Evergreen
MAX. HEIGHT: 90 ft.
MAX. AGE: 200 yrs.
Stop #5 on the Congressional Tree Walk
