Magnoliidae

Magnoliidae

A subclass of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) in the division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), the flowering plants. The subclass consists of 8 orders, 39 families, and more than 12,000 species. The Magnoliidae are the most primitive subclass of flowering plants. In general, they have a well-developed perianth, which may or may not be numerous, centripetal stamens, and they are apocarpous. See Aristolochiales, Illiciales, Laurales, Magnoliales, Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida, Nymphaeales, Papaverales, Piperales, Plant kingdom, Ranunculales

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Bioscience. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Magnoliidae

[‚mag·nō′lī·ə‚dē]

(botany)

A primitive subclass of flowering plants in the class Magnoliopsida generally having a well-developed perianth, numerous centripetal stamens, and bitegmic, crassinucellate ovules.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.