A widespread order of lilioid monocotyledons composed of four or five families, the most important of which is Dioscoreaceae (650 species). These families contain some of the most peculiar plants among the monocots. Two families, Thismiaceae and Burmanniaceae (with 35 and 140 species, respectively), are largely composed of nonphotosynthetic herbaceous species that parasitize fungi, whereas other members, such as the bat plant (Tacca, Taccaceae) and the yams (Dioscorea) have net-veined leaves similar to dicots. Most of the 600 species of Dioscorea are vines, and all contain diosgenin, a precursor of progesterone and cortisone, leading to their being commercially collected in some parts of the world. See also Magnoliophyta.
Dioscoreales
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Please expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish Wikipedia. (December 2009) After translating, {{Translated|es|Dioscoreales}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance.Translation instructions · Translate via Google |
| Dioscoreales | |
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| Dioscorea communis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Dioscoreales Hook.f. |
| Families | |
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Dioscoreales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Of necessity it contains the family Dioscoreaceae.
In the APG II system, of 2003, this order was placed in the clade monocots and comprised the families Burmanniaceae, Dioscoreaceae and Nartheciaceae.
Under the APG system of 1998, the order was placed in the clade monocots and comprised the families Burmanniaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Taccaceae, Thismiaceae and Trichopodaceae
In APG II, the family Thismiaceae has been included in family Burmanniaceae and the families Taccaceae and Trichopodaceae have been included in family Dioscoreaceae. Therefore the change is not as large as might appear, and the only plants to have moved across the borders of the order are those belonging to family Nartheciaceae.
The Cronquist system, of 1981, did not recognise such an order, but placed most such plants in order Liliales in subclass Liliidae in class Liliopsida (monocotyledons) of division Magnoliophyta (angiosperms).
Under the Dahlgren system, Dioscoreales was placed in the superorder Lilianae in subclass Liliidae (monocotyledons) of class Magnoliopsida (angiosperms) and comprised the families Dioscoreaceae, Petermanniaceae, Rhipogonaceae, Smilacaceae, Stemonaceae, Taccaceae, Trichopodaceae and Trilliaceae.
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 | Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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