Although endemic to the evergreen lowland subtropical forests on the Gulf and South Atlantic coastal plain, M. grandiflora is widely cultivated in warmer areas around the world.

The large, showy, lemon citronella-scented flowers are white, up to 30 cm (11+3⁄4 in) across and fragrant, with six to 12 petals with a waxy texture, emerging from the tips of twigs on mature trees in late spring.

[9] M. grandiflora was one of the many species first described by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1759,[10] basing his description on the earlier notes of Miller.

[9] Southern magnolias are native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia south to central Florida, and then west to East Texas.

[20] Plant collector Mark Catesby, the first in North America, brought M. grandiflora to Britain in 1726, where it entered cultivation and overshadowed M. virginiana, which had been collected a few years earlier.

Grown for its attractive, shiny green leaves and fragrant flowers, it has a long history in the Southern United States.

The species is also cultivated as far north as coastal areas of New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, New York, and Delaware, and in much of the Chesapeake Bay region in Maryland, and eastern Virginia.

[11] In the interior of the US, some of the cold-hardy cultivars have flourished as far north as Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, where a sizable population exists.

Farther north, few known long-term specimens are found due to the severe winters, and/or lack of sufficient summer heat.

Seeds may promote health and prevent diseases like high blood pressure, heart disturbances and epilepsy.

[11] Until early 2018, an iconic southern magnolia planted by President Andrew Jackson nearly 200 years earlier grew near the South Portico of the White House.

It was the oldest tree on the White House grounds and was so famous that it was for decades pictured on the back of the $20 bill as part of a view of the South Front.

In 2017, it was decided on the advice of the National Arboretum to cut down and remove the magnolia because the trunk was in an extremely fragile condition and the supports had been compromised.

[29] The leaves are heavy and tend to fall year round from the interior of the crown and form a dense cover over the soil surface,[29] and they have been used in decorative floral arrangements.

Lumber from all three species is simply called magnolia, which is used in the construction of furniture, boxes, pallets, venetian blinds, sashes, and doors, and used as veneers.

Southern magnolia has yellowish-white sapwood and light to dark brown heartwood tinted yellow or green.