Caryophyllales: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Caryophyllales are an order of dicotyledons. Newer schemes include a number of families, most of which belong to two distinct subgroups. The core Caryophyllales comprise the following:

• Family Caryophyllaceae (carnation family)
• Family Amaranthaceae (amaranth family)
• Family Achatocarpaceae
• Family Stegnospermataceae
• Family Barbeuiaceae
• Family Aizoaceae (stone plant family)
• Family Phytolaccaceae (pokeweed family)
• Family Sarcobataceae (greasewood family)
• Family Nyctaginaceae (four-o'clock family)
• Family Molluginaceae (carpetweed family)
• Family Cactaceae (cactus family)
• Family Portulacaceae (purslane family)
• Family Basellaceae (basella family)
• Family Asteropeiaceae
• Family Physenaceae

Except for the last two families, this group corresponds directly to the Caryophyllales under the older Cronquist system. There are some slight variations in what families are recognized, between these and other classifications. Both the Stegnospermataceae and Barbeuiaceae are included in Cronquist's Phytolaccaceae, while his Didieraceae is included in the more recent Portulaceae, and his Chenopodiaceae corresponds to the Sarcobataceae plus some of the Amaranthaceae. The Asteropeiaceae and Physenaceae each contain a single genus, which Cronquist placed in the Theaceae and Capparidaceae, respectively.

The other major group of Caryophyllales comprises the following families:

• Family Polygonaceae (buckwheat family)
• Family Plumbaginaceae (plumbago family)
• Family Frankeniaceae
• Family Tamaricaceae
• Family Droseraceae (sundew family)
• Family Nepenthaceae
• Family Drosophyllaceae
• Family Ancistrocladaceae
• Family Dioncophyllaceae

Cronquist gave the Polygonaceae and Plumbaginaceae their own orders, which together with his Caryophyllales made up the subclass Caryophyllidae. The Droseraceae and Nepenthaceae (including the Drosophyllaceae) made up the order Nepenthales, together with the Sarraceniaceae, and the remaining families were placed among the Violales, both of which were included among the Dilleniidae.

Two other families are included in the Caryophyllales, which do not fall into either of the above groups:

• Family Simmondsiaceae (jojoba, also placed in Euphorbiales next to boxwood)
• Family Rhabdodendraceae