Arecidae

(botany) A subclass of flowering plants in the class Liliopsida characterized by numerous, small flowers subtended by a prominent spathe and often aggregated into a spadix, and broad, petiolate leaves without typical parallel venation.

A subclass of the class Liliopsida (monocotyledons) of the division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), the flowering plants, consisting of four orders (Arecales, Cyclanthales, Pandanales, and Arales), five families, and nearly 6000 species. Except for the highly reduced family Lemnaceae (Arales), they have an inflorescence of usually numerous, small flowers, generally subtended by a prominent spathe and often aggregated into a spadix. Except in the Araceae (Arales), the endosperm seldom contains much starch. More than 80% of the species have broad, petiolate leaves that do not have the typical parallel venation commonly associated with monocotyledons, and more than half of the species are arborescent (likewise an unusual character among the monocotyledons). See also Arales; Arecales; Cyclanthales; Liliopsida; Magnoliophyta; Pandanales; Plant kingdom.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: one of four subclasses or superorder of Monocotyledones; comprises about 6400 species in 5 families of trees and shrubs and terrestrial herbs and a few free-floating aquatics including: Palmae; Araceae; Pandanaceae: and Lemnaceae
  Synonym: subclass Arecidae

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