Article
Article
Laurales
Article By:
Chase, Mark W. Molecular Systematics Section, Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Last reviewed:2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.373550
An order of flowering plants composed of seven eumagnoliid families of tropical tree species that are important ecologically; some are shrubs. They include in total about 2500 species. They are most closely related to Magnoliales, from which they differ in their partly inferior ovaries and their biaperturate or inaperturate pollen, and then to Winterales and Piperales. Lauraceae (the laurel or cinnamon family) are the best known and largest, but Monimiaceae and its segregates (Atherospermataceae and Siparunaceae) are also important. Nearly all species have aromatic oils, which are important spices, perfumes, and medicines; their flowers are for the most part small and often arranged in distinct whorls, but some such as those of Calycanthaceae are large and much like those of Magnoliales in that parts are arranged spirally and intergrade.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 45 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
