Myrtales

(botany) An order of dicotyledonous plants in the subclass Rosidae characterized by opposite, simple, entire leaves and perigynous to epigynous flowers with a compound pistil.

An order of flowering plants in the core eudicots. The order consists of 10 families and approximately 9300 species. The two largest families are Melastomataceae (approximately 4500 species) and Myrtaceae (approximately 3000 species). Thymelaeaceae are excluded in recent concepts of the order, being related instead to families of Malvales.

Myrtales are chiefly tropical, but Onagraceae and Penaeaceae are predominantly temperate. Myrtales usually have opposite, simple, entire leaves and perigynous to epigynous flowers with a compound pistil and most commonly axile placentation. The seeds have little or no endosperm. The stamens are normally numerous, and many species have tetramerous flowers. Vascular bundles characteristically have internal phloem, which is otherwise rare in the rosid dicots.

Economic crops in Myrtaceae include spice trees such as allspice (Pimenta) and cloves (Syzygium), and the timber trees Eucalyptus. Other important economic crops in the order include evening primrose (Oenothera, Onagraceae) and pomegranate (Punica, Lythraceae). Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) can be a noxious weed of North American waterways. See also Eudicotyledons.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: Myrtaceae; Combretaceae; Elaeagnaceae; Haloragidaceae; Melastomaceae; Lecythidaceae; Lythraceae; Rhizophoraceae; Onagraceae; Lecythidaceae; Punicaceae
  Synonyms: order Myrtales, Thymelaeales, order Thymelaeales

Myrtales
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Myrtales Reichenbach
Families
See text

The Myrtales are an order of flowering plants placed as a basal group within the rosid group of dicotyledons (not a member of eurosids I or eurosids II). The following families are typical of newer classifications:

• Family Alzateaceae
• Family Combretaceae (leadwood family)
• Family Crypteroniaceae
• Family Heteropyxidaceae
• Family Lythraceae (loosestrife and pomegranate family)
• Family Melastomataceae
• Family Memecylaceae
• Family Myrtaceae (myrtle family)
• Family Oliniaceae
• Family Onagraceae (evening primrose family)
• Family Penaeaceae
• Family Psiloxylaceae
• Family Rhynchocalycaceae
• Family Vochysiaceae

Blue Eyes Fuchsia flower and buds, from order Myrtales and family Onagraceae

The Cronquist system gives essentially the same composition, except the Vochysiaceae are removed to the order Polygalales, and the Thymelaeaceae are included. The families Sonneratiaceae, Trapaceae, and Punicaceae are removed from the Lythraceae, while the Psioxylaceae and Heteropyxidaceae are treated within the Myrtaceae, and the Memecyclaceae within the Melastomataceae.

References

• Conti, E., Erikkson, T., Schonenberger, J., Sytsma, K. J., & Baum, D. A. (2002). Early Tertiary Out-of-India Dispersal of Crypteroniaceae: Evidence from Phylogeny and Molecular Dating. Evolution 56 (10): 1931–1942
• Schönenberger, J. & Conti, E. (2003). Molecular phylogeny and floral evolution of Penaeaceae, Oliniaceae, Rhynchocalycaceae, and Alzateaceae (Myrtales). American Journal of Botany 90: 293–309.

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