Most have bisexual flowers (with the exception of Kmeria and some species of Magnolia section Gynopodium), showy, fragrant, radial, and with an elongated receptacle.

Extant species of the Magnoliaceae are widely distributed in temperate and tropical Asia from the Himalayas to Japan and southwest through Malaysia and New Guinea.

[7] In his following work Adansonia, Baillon recognizes Bentham and Hooker's changes and additions but proposes an alternative taxonomy where he sets aside the Tulipier genus and include all remaining genera under one Magnolieae tribe.

Dandy's taxonomic proposal in 1927 sets aside the genus Liriodendron as a part of the subfamily Liriodendreae and includes Bentham and Hooker's four genera in addition to four more (Kmeria, Pachylarnax, Alcimandra, and Elmerrillia) within the Magnolieae tribe.

[11] Azuma et al. employ both molecular phylogeny and parsimonious mapping of the chemistry of floral scents in 1999 to propose a phylogenetic tree where, unlike Dandy's taxonomy, they include Michelia species within the Magnolia genus as a sister group to the subgenus Yulania and also find that the section Rytidospermum is not monophyletic, placing some of its members in a clade with the section Oyama.

[15][16] Although phylogenetic trees of the Magnoliaceae still include anywhere from 2 to 17 genera, the broad generic concept (where one genus, Magnolia, is in the Magnolioideae) is largely accepted as a practical construction upheld by molecular and morphological evidence.

[13] Even as debates over rank persist, monophyletic groups are largely established with opportunities for further research into endangered and extinct species.

The family's place as early angiosperms means that research into its taxonomy and evolutionary history contributes to our broader understanding of the evolution of plant life.

[citation needed] The development of DNA sequencing at the end of the 20th century had a profound impact on the research of phylogenetic relationships within the family.

Although no completely resolved phylogeny for the family has yet been determined, these technological advances have allowed systematists to broadly circumscribe major lineages.

[citation needed] Magnolias have a rich cultural tradition in China, where references to their healing qualities go back thousands of years.