The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for tea, persimmon, blueberry, kiwifruit, Brazil nuts, argan, cranberry, sapote, and azalea. The order includes trees, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient mycoheterotrophic plants and carnivorous plants.
The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it the 14th most species-rich family of flowering plants. The many well known and economically important members of the Ericaceae include the cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, rhododendron, and various common heaths and heathers.
Primulales was an order of flowering plants. This order was recognized in several systems with little variation in circumscription. In the classification system of Dahlgren the Primulales were in the superorder Primuliflorae. In the 1981 version of the Cronquist system it was an order placed in subclass Dilleniidae with the following circumscription:
The Actinidiaceae are a small family of flowering plants. The family has three genera and about 360 species and is a member of the order Ericales.
The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguishable based on its woody habit, tropical distribution, and the presence of simple umbels.
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus Amaranthus. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it the most species-rich lineage within its parent order, Caryophyllales.
Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpet vines. It is not known to which of the other families in the order it is most closely related.
The Crassulaceae, also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a form of photosynthesis, known as Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Flowers generally have five floral parts. Crassulaceae are usually herbaceous but there are some subshrubs, and relatively few treelike or aquatic plants. Crassulaceae are a medium-sized monophyletic family in the core eudicots, among the order Saxifragales, whose diversity has made infrafamilial classification very difficult. The family includes approximately 1,400 species and 34–35 genera, depending on the circumscription of the genus Sedum, and distributed over three subfamilies. Members of the Crassulaceae are found worldwide, but mostly in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce, although a few are aquatic.
Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera.
The Primulaceae, commonly known as the primrose family, are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though some species, such as scarlet pimpernel, are annuals.
Scilloideae is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family Asparagaceae. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus Hyacinthus. Scilloideae or Hyacinthaceae include many familiar garden plants such as Hyacinthus (hyacinths), Hyacinthoides (bluebells), Muscari and Scilla and Puschkinia. Some are important as cut flowers.
Anagallis is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, commonly called pimpernel. The scarlet pimpernel referred to in literature is part of this genus. The botanical name is from the Greek ana and agállein, and it refers to the opening and closing of the flowers in response to environmental conditions.
Myrsinoideae is a subfamily of the family Primulaceae in the order Ericales. It was formerly recognized as the family Myrsinaceae, or the myrsine family, consisting of 35 genera and about 1000 species. It is widespread in temperate to tropical climates extending north to Europe, Siberia, Japan, Mexico, and Florida, and south to New Zealand, South America, and South Africa.
Diapensiaceae is a small family of flowering plants, which includes 15 species in 6 genera. The genera include Berneuxia Decne., Diapensia L., Galax Sims, Pyxidanthera Michx., Shortia Torr. & A.Gray, and Schizocodon Siebold & Zucc.. Members of this family have little economic importance; however, some members are cultivated by florists.
Samolus is a widely distributed genus of about a dozen species of water-loving herbs and amphibious flowering plants. According to the APG III system of classification, the genus falls within the primrose family, Primulaceae, under the order containing the rhododendroid eudicots, Ericales. It was considered closely related to a clade comprising the Theophrastaceae, and was likewise treated as part of that family. The APG III system does not recognize these families, instead classifying all former Theophrastaceae genera within the family Primulaceae.
Theophrastoideae is a small subfamily of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly recognized as a separate family Theophrastaceae. As previously circumscribed, the family consisted of eight genera and 95 species of trees or shrubs, native to tropical regions of the Americas.
A pseudanthium is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers, or capitula, which are special types of inflorescences in which anything from a small cluster to hundreds or sometimes thousands of flowers are grouped together to form a single flower-like structure. Pseudanthia take various forms. The real flowers are generally small and often greatly reduced, but the pseudanthium itself can sometimes be quite large.
Maesa is a genus of flowering plants. It is placed in the family Primulaceae, subfamily Maesoideae, for which it is the sole genus (monotypic). Previously it was placed in Myrsinaceae, or in a family of its own, Maesaceae. There are 184 accepted species native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, the majority of which occur in Malesia, New Guinea, western Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
Anagallis tenella, known in Britain as the bog pimpernel, is a low growing perennial plant found in a variety of damp habitats from calcareous dune slacks to boggy and peaty heaths in Eurasia. In the United Kingdom it is mostly restricted to the western half of the country, although it was more common in the east before land drainage and intensification of farming in that area.
Epacridoideae is a subfamily of the family Ericaceae. The name StyphelioideaeSweet is also used. The subfamily contains around 35 genera and 545 species. Many species are found in Australasia, others occurring northwards through the Pacific to Southeast Asia, with a small number in South America.
