Well-known members of Magnoliales include: magnolias, tulip trees, custard apples, American pawpaw, cherimoyas, ylang-ylang, soursop fruit, and nutmeg.

The Cronquist system (1981) placed the order in the subclass Magnoliidae of class Magnoliopsida (=dicotyledons) and used this circumscription:[citation needed] The Thorne system (1992) placed the order in superorder Magnolianae, subclass Magnoliidae (= dicotyledons), in the class Magnoliopsida (= angiosperms) and used this circumscription (including the plants placed in order Laurales and Piperales by other systems):[citation needed] The Engler system, in its update of 1964, placed the order in subclassis Archychlamydeae in class Dicotyledoneae (=dicotyledons) and used this circumscription: The Wettstein system, latest version published in 1935, did not use this name although it had an order with a similar circumscription with the name Polycarpicae.

This was placed in the Dialypetalae in subclass Choripetalae of class Dicotyledones.

From the above it will be clear that the plants included in this order by APG have always been seen as related.

The difference is that earlier systems have also included other plants, which have been moved to neighbouring orders (in the magnoliids) by APG.