Magnolia grandiflora

The Southern magnolia tree is in the magnolia or Magnoliaceae family and is native to the southeastern United States from southeastern North Carolina to central Florida, and west to east Texas. It is widely cultivated in warmer areas of the world, reaching up to 28 m tall.

• Evergreen leaves are simple, ovate to elliptic, stiff and leathery, 12–25 cm long and 6–12 cm across, glossy dark green above and variable pale green to gray-brown and pubescent below; margins are smooth.
• Flowers are large, showy, white, up to 30 cm across and fragrant, with usually 6 tepals (like petals) with a waxy texture, emerging from the tips of twigs on mature trees in May-June.
• Flowers give way to spherical cone-like fruiting clusters 7.5 to 12 cm long that mature in late summer to early fall, releasing individual rose-red coated seeds suspended on slender threads at maturity.