Dilleniidae

(botany) A subclass of plants in the class Magnoliopsida distinguished by being syncarpous, having centrifugal stamens, and usually having bitegmic ovules and binucleate pollen.

A large subclass of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) of the division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), the flowering plants, consisting of 13 orders, 78 families, and nearly 25,000 species. The subclass is morphologically ill-defined, but most of the orders and species have the carpels united to form a compound pistil. The petals are either separate or joined into a sympetalous corolla. The stamens, when numerous, are initiated in centrifugal sequence. Many of the species have numerous ovules on parietal placentas; that is, the placentas are borne along the walls of an ovary which is usually with a single chamber.

The largest orders included in the subclass are the Violales, Capparales, Malvales, Theales, and Ericales. Other orders include the Dilleniales, Lecythidales, Nepenthales, Salicales, Diapensiales, Ebenales, Primulales, and Batales. See separate articles on each order. See also Magnoliophyta.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a group of families of more or less advanced trees and shrubs and herbs having either polypetalous or gamopetalous corollas and often with ovules attached to the walls of the ovary; contains 69 families including Ericaceae and Cruciferae and Malvaceae; sometimes classified as a superorder
  Synonym: subclass Dilleniidae

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