Plumbaginales

Article By:

Cronquist, Arthur New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York.

Barkley, Theodore M. Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.

Last reviewed:January 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.529300

An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), in the subclass Caryophyllidae of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The order consists of only the family Plumbaginaceae, with about 400 species. The plants are herbs or less often shrubs. The flowers are strictly pentamerous (that is, each floral whorl has five members); the petals are fused (sympetalous condition) and all alike in shape and size; the pollen is trinucleate; and there is a single basal ovule located in a compound ovary that has a single locule or cell. The Plumbaginaceae differ from most families of their subclass in their straight embryo, copious endosperm, absence of perisperm, and the presence of anthocyanin pigments instead of betalains. The family contains a few garden ornamentals, such as species of Armeria, known as thrift or sea-pink. See also: Caryophyllidae; Magnoliophyta; Magnoliopsida; Plant kingdom; Pollen

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