Gentianales
Gentianales is an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid clade of eudicots. It comprises more than 16,000 species in about 1,138 genera in 5 families. More than 80% of the species in this order belong to the family Rubiaceae.Taxonomy
In the classification system of Dahlgren the Gentiales were in the superorder Gentianiflorae. The following families are included according to the APG III system:
The following phylogenetic tree is based on molecular phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences.Etymology
It takes its name from the family Gentianaceae, which in turn is based on the name of the type genus, Gentiana. The genus name is a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king.Uses
Well-known members of Gentianales are coffee, frangipani, Gardenia, gentian, oleander, and periwinkle.
