|                    Loblolly bay
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                |                    Gordonia lasianthus  
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                |                    Theaceae 
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                 Landscape Uses:
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                 Accent or specimen tree in wet locations. | 
               
                Ecological Restoration Notes:  | 
               
              
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                | Availability: | 
               
              
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                 Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast and central Florida. Available in Lake Worth at Indian Trails Native Nursery
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                | Description: | 
               
              
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                 Medium to large tree. | 
               
              
                | Height: | 
               
              
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                 Typically 25-50 feet; to 95 feet in Florida. | 
               
              
                | Growth Rate: | 
               
              
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                 Moderate. | 
               
              
                | Range: | 
               
              
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                 Southeastern United States west to Mississippi and south to Palm Beach, Glades and Sarasota counties. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the  Exploring Florida website. | 
               
              
                | Habitats: | 
               
              
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                 Swamps. | 
               
              
                | Soils: | 
               
              
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                 Wet to moist, seasonally inundated organic soils, acid pH. | 
               
              
                | Nutritional Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 High; requires rich organic soils for optimal growth. | 
               
              
                | Salt Water Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water. | 
               
              
                | Salt Wind Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. | 
               
              
                | Drought Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. | 
               
              
                | Light Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Full sun to light shade. | 
               
              
                | Flower Color: | 
               
              
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                 White | 
               
              
                | Flower Characteristics: | 
               
              
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                 Showy; fragrant | 
               
              
                | Flowering Season: | 
               
              
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                 Summer | 
               
              
                | Fruit: | 
               
              
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                 Ovoid capsule, splitting open at maturity. | 
               
              
                | Wildlife and Ecology: | 
               
              
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                 Provides moderate amounts of food and significant cover for wildlife. | 
               
                     
                | Horticultural Notes: | 
               
              
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                  | 
               
              
                | Comments: | 
               
              
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                 See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's  Flower Friday page. | 
               
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