Article
Article
Eriocaulales
Article By:
Cronquist, Arthur New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.240700
An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), subclass Commelinidae of the class Liliopsida (monocotyledons). The order consists of the single family Eriocaulaceae, with about 1200 species. The Eriocaulales are Commelinidae with a reduced (or no) perianth and with unisexual flowers aggregated into a dense, involucrate head that is elevated above the clustered, basal leaves on a long peduncle. Although the individual flowers are small and inconspicuous, the heads are more or less showy and pollination is usually by insects, in spite of the absence of nectar and nectaries. The perianth typically consists of two series of similar, white-hyaline tepals, three members in each series. Each locule of the ovary has a single, pendulous, orthotropous, tenuinucellate ovule. The order is of negligible economic importance. See also: Commelinidae; Liliopsida; Magnoliophyta; Plant kingdom
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