The Magnoliales are an order of flowering plants.
Classification
The Magnoliales include six families:
Annonaceae (custard apple family, over 2000 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas; mostly tropical but some temperate)
Degeneriaceae (two species of trees found on Pacific islands)
Eupomatiaceae (two species of trees and shrubs found in New Guinea and eastern Australia)
Himantandraceae (two species of trees and shrubs, found in tropical areas in Southeast Asia and Australia)
Magnoliaceae (about 225 species including magnolias and tulip trees)
Myristicaceae (several hundred species including nutmeg)
APG system
The APG system (1998), APG II system (2003), and APG III system (2009) place this order in the clade magnoliids, circumscribed as follows:
In these systems, published by the APG, the Magnoliales are a basal group, excluded from the eudicots.
Earlier systems
The Cronquist system (1981) placed the order in the subclass Magnoliidae of class Magnoliopsida (=dicotyledons) and used this circumscription:
order Magnoliales
family Annonaceae
family Austrobaileyaceae
family Canellaceae
family Degeneriaceae
family Eupomatiaceae
family Himantandraceae
family Lactoridaceae
family Magnoliaceae
family Myristicaceae
family Winteraceae
The Thorne system (1992) placed the order in superorder Magnolianae, subclass Magnoliidae (= dicotyledons), in the class Magnoliopsida (= angiosperms) and used this circumscription (including the plants placed in order Laurales and Piperales by other systems):
order Magnoliales
family Amborellaceae
family Annonaceae
family Aristolochiaceae
family Austrobaileyaceae
family Calycanthaceae
family Canellaceae
family Chloranthaceae
family Degeneriaceae
family Eupomatiaceae
family Gomortegaceae
family Hernandiaceae
family Himantandraceae
family Illiciaceae
family Lactoridaceae
family Lauraceae
family Magnoliaceae
family Monimiaceae
family Myristicaceae
family Piperaceae
family Saururaceae
family Schisandraceae
family Trimeniaceae
family Winteraceae
The Engler system, in its update of 1964, placed the order in subclassis Archychlamydeae in class Dicotyledoneae (=dicotyledons) and used this circumscription:
order Magnoliales
family Amborellaceae
family Annonaceae
family Austrobaileyaceae
family Calycanthaceae
family Canellaceae
family Cercidiphyllaceae
family Degeneriaceae
family Eupomatiaceae
family Eupteleaceae
family Gomortegaceae
family Hernandiaceae
family Himantandraceae
family Illiciaceae
family Lauraceae
family Magnoliaceae
family Monimiaceae
family Myristicaceae
family Schisandraceae
family Trimeniaceae
family Tetracentraceae
family Trochodendraceae
family Winteraceae
The Wettstein system, latest version published in 1935, did not use this name although it had an order with a similar circumscription with the name Polycarpicae.
This was placed in the Dialypetalae in subclass Choripetalae of class Dicotyledones.
(See also Sympetalae).
From the above it will be clear that the plants included in this order by APG have always been seen as related.
They have always been placed in the order Magnoliales (or a predecessor).
The difference is that earlier systems have also included other plants, which have been moved to neighbouring orders (in the magnoliids) by APG.
References
