Cornales

(botany) An order of dicotyledonous plants in the subclass Rosidae marked by a woody habit, simple leaves, well-developed endosperm, and fleshy fruits.

An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), in the superordinal Asteridae group of Eudicotyledon. The order consists of 5 families (Cornaceae, Grubbiaceae, Hydrangeaceae, Hydrostachyaceae, and Loasaceae), approximately 50 genera, and about 600 species. The order is mostly characterized by opposite leaves and flowers with four or five perianth parts that usually grow from the top of the ovary (epigynous). The fruit is either a fleshy berry or dehiscent capsule. The various species of dogwoods (Cornus) and sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica, family Cornaceae) are well known. Various species of Hydrangeaceae (deutzia, hydrangea, mock-orange) are important cultivated shrubs. See also Asteridae; Dogwood; Plant kingdom; Tupelo.

Cornales
Dove tree in flower a species in Nyssaceae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Cornales Dumortier
Families
See text.

Cornales is an order of flowering plants, basal among the asterids, which are part of the core eudicots. There are about 600 species of cornales. Cornales are flowering plants whose flowers are in groups of four, in which the petals are not joined with each other. Under the APG system, it includes the following families:

• Family Cornaceae (dogwood family)
• Family Curtisiaceae (cape lancewood)
• Family Grubbiaceae (sillyberry family)
• Family Hydrangeaceae (hydrangea family)
• Family Hydrostachyaceae
• Family Loasaceae (stickleaf family)
• Family Nyssaceae (tupelo family)

Under the Cronquist system the order instead comprised the families Cornaceae, Garryaceae, and Alangiaceae, and was placed among the Rosidae.

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