Gordonia lasianthus

Gordonia lasianthus
Photo taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order:	Theales
Family:	Theaceae
Genus:	Gordonia
Species:	G. lasianthus
Binomial name
Gordonia lasianthus (L.) Ellis
Natural range of Gordonia lasianthus from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: loblolly bay

Description

A description of Gordonia lasianthus is provided in The Flora of North America.

Ecology

Habitat

Gordonia lasianthus has been found along margins of titi swamps, densely wooded hammocks, swampy depressions, cypress domes, an ecotone between a titi-sweet bay swamp and a pond pine flatwood, ravine bottoms, shrub bogs, wet pine flatwoods, mesic steepheads, and bald cypress/mixed hardwoods swamps. It has been found to occur in disturbed areas such as cut-over pinewoods and powerline corridors (FSU Herbarium). It has been observed to grow in loamy sand (FSU Herbarium). Associated species include Stewartia, Illicium, Ilex, Persea borbonia, Magnolia glauca, Rhus vernix, Clethra, Cliftonia, Nyssa, Cyrilla, Pinus elliottii, Quercus nigra, Liquidambar, Magnolia virginiana, Oxydendron, Illicium floridanum, Myrica, Liriodendron, Pickneya, Rhododendron viscosum, Serenoa, Osmunda, Sphagnum, and Lycopodium (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

Flowers May through July (FSU Herbarium).

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Gordonia lasianthus at Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup 2015):

Sphecidae: Ectemnius rufipes ais

Vespidae: Pachodynerus erynnis, Polistes dorsalis hunteri

References and notes

Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.