Illiciales

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Illiciales is the botanical name of an order of flowering plants. The order is not recognized by all plant taxonomists and is comprised differently in various systems of plant taxonomy, but is composed of 2-4 families of shrubs, trees, and lianas native to Australasia, south eastern Asia, and the southeastern United States. The families all contain species with essential oils, and flowers with a perianth with bracts (when present), sepals, and petals incompletely distinguished from each other and not arranged in definite whorls.

The order has been recognised by relatively few taxonomists, with the plant families of the order being variably placed in other orders (Magnoliales, Austrobaileyales) in different taxonomies.

The Cronquist system, of 1981, does recognize Illiciales as an order consisting of the Illiciaceae and Schisandraceae and places it in subclass Magnoliidae, in class Magnoliopsida (or dicotyledons) of division Magnoliophyta (or angiosperms).

The Dahlgren system also recognises such an order and places it in superorder Magnolianae, in subclass Magnoliideae (Dahlgren's dicotyledons), in class Magnoliopsida with the same circumscription of families as the Chronquist system.

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) does not recognize the order, initially leaving the family Illiciaceae unplaced as to order. In its second higher level taxonomy of angiosperms (APG II), the APG recognized Illicium and Schisandra as closely related taxa in the family Illiciaceae, and created the order Austrobaileyales with the Illiciaceae, Trimeniaceae, and Austrobaileyaceae.