Fraser magnolia is a small, deciduous tree growing to 14 m (40 ft) tall, as a basal-branching, fragrant plant, with brown bark with a "warty" or "scaly" texture. The leaves are quite large, 15–25 cm (rarely up to 53 cm) long and 8–18 cm (rarely up to 29 cm) broad, with a pair of auricles (or "ear-lobes") at the base and an entire margin; they are green above and glaucous blue-green below. The showy white flowers are 16–25 cm in diameter with nine tepals; they open in late spring or early summer, after the foliage. The fruit is a woody, oblong, cone-like structure (like all Magnolias) 6.5–12 cm long, covered in small, pod-like follicles each containing one or two red seeds that hang out from the cone by a slender thread when ripe. A good seed crop occurs only about every 4-5 years. Reproduction is accomplished by both seed and vegetative sprouts. The fruit is eaten by wildlife, helping disperse the seeds.
This tree grows best on rich, moist, well-drained soil. The very large showy white flowers and large-leaved, coarse-textured foliage make this an attractive ornamental tree, but otherwise it has little commercial value. It is sometimes cultivated in North America as a native alternative to exotic magnolias, and can be grown a considerable distance north of its natural range if given conditions favorable to its growth.
There are two varieties:
- Magnolia fraseri var. fraseri, native to the Appalachian Mountains.
- Magnolia fraseri var. pyramidata (Bartram) Pampanini, from the Coastal Plain. The vernacular name for this variety is Pyramid magnolia.
The bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) also has auriculate-lobed leaves.
Fraser Magnolia is named for the Scottish botanist John Fraser (1750–1811), who collected extensively in the Appalachian Mountains.