Friday, September 30, 2022

Sweetbay Magnolia Seeds and Fruit

What does the fruit of sweetbay magnolia look like? I guess I never expected a magnolia tree to have bright red seeds and a big pineapple looking fruit pod on it. Obviously magnolia does have a nice flower on it so if the flower is pollenated it's going to turn into something. It looks bizarre because you never really see photos of magnolia tree seed pods like this. 


As the fruit ripens it bursts open revealing bright red seeds inside. I didn't see any seeds on the ground so I think the birds are eating them. Maybe the bright red color attracts birds to help them find the seeds to eat so they can spread the seeds further across the region. 

Sweetbay Magnolia Seeds and Fruit

sweetbay magnolia seed pod

Here's a picture of my young Sweetbay Magnolia tree on the west side of my morning room so you get an idea of the size and location of the tree. 


And here is the magnolia flower blooming earlier in the year before it was pollenated. 

photo of sweetbay magnolia flowers blooming