Sapindales

(botany) An order of mostly woody dicotyledonous plants in the subclass Rosidae with compound or lobed leaves and polypetalous, hypogynous to perigynous flowers with one or two sets of stamens.

An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), in the subclass Rosidae of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The order consists of 15 families and about 5400 species. The largest families are the Rutaceae (about 1500 species), Sapindaceae (about 1500 species), Meliaceae (about 550 species), Anacardiaceae (about 600 species), and Burseraceae (about 600 species). Most of the Sapindales are woody plants, with compound or lobed leaves and polypetalous, hypogynous to perigynous flowers with one or two sets of stamens and only one or two ovules in each locule of the ovary. A large proportion of the species have glandular cavities in the leaves, or resin ducts in the bark and wood, or other sorts of secretory structures.

Some of the Anacardiaceae, including poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and the lacquer tree (T. vernicifluum) of the Orient, are notoriously allergenic to humans. Some other well-known members of the order are orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit (all species of Citrus in the Rutaceae); the various kinds of maple (Acer, in the Aceraceae); and the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum, in the Hippocastanaceae). See also Buckeye; Cashew; Citron; Grapefruit; Kumquat; Lemon; Lignumvitae; Lime (botany); Magnoliophyta; Magnoliopsida; Mahogany; Mandarin; Maple; Orange; Pistachio; Poison ivy; Quebracho; Varnish tree.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an order od dicotyledonous plants
  Synonym: order Sapindales

Sapindales
Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Sapindales Dumortier
Families
See text

Chloroxylon swietenia from Rutaceae

Sapindales (pronounced /sæpɨnˈdaɪliːz/) is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; and mahogany.

The APG II system of 2003 includes it in the clade eurosids II (in rosids, in eudicots) including the following families:

• Anacardiaceae
• Biebersteiniaceae
• Burseraceae
• Kirkiaceae
• Meliaceae
• Nitrariaceae (+ Peganaceae and Tetradiclidaceae)
• Rutaceae
• Sapindaceae
• Simaroubaceae

(with "+ ..." = optional segregate of the preceding family)

The Cronquist system of 1981 used a somewhat different circumscription, including the following families:

• Staphyleaceae
• Melianthaceae
• Bretschneideraceae
• Akaniaceae
• Sapindaceae
• Hippocastanaceae
• Aceraceae
• Burseraceae
• Anacardiaceae
• Julianiaceae
• Simaroubaceae
• Cneoraceae
• Meliaceae
• Rutaceae
• Zygophyllaceae

The difference with the APG II system is not as large as may appear, as the plants in the families Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae stay in this order at APG II (both included in family Sapindaceae). The species now comprising the family Nitrariaceae in APG II also belonged to this order in the Cronquist system as part of the family Zygophyllaceae, while those now in the family Kirkiaceae were present as part of the family Simaroubaceae.

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