Polygonales

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/10.1036/1097-8542.534800

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• Polygonales, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

A former order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae) of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons), reassigned to the suborder Polygonineae in the order Caryophyllales. The order Polygonales was considered as an ordinal grouping in many previous taxon classifications. It consisted of the members of the family Polygonaceae, with more than 1000 species (see illustration), which are most abundant in north temperate regions. Present-day taxonomies have reassigned this group to the suborder Polygonineae in the order Caryophyllales. Members of the family Polygonaceae are characterized by the following features: a well-developed endosperm; an ovary with one chamber (unilocular) that is mostly tricarpellate with a single basal ovule, which is usually straight and has the micropyle at the opposite end from the stalk (orthotropous); and typically trimerous flowers, that is, with floral parts in sets of three, and usually two or three sets of stamens. Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) are familiar members of this group. See also: Buckwheat; Caryophyllales; Magnoliophyta; Magnoliopsida; Plant kingdom; Rhubarb

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