Zygophyllales

Article By:

Chase, Mark W. Molecular Systematics Section, Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757623

An order of flowering plants in the eurosid I group of the rosid eudicots. This order comprises just two small families of distant relationship (as evidenced by DNA sequence studies) to all other rosid eudicots: Krameriaceae and Zygophyllaceae. In previous systems of classification, both families were placed in the highly unnatural order Polygalales or Sapindales, the families of which share with them only highly zygomorphic flowers. Krameriaceae (25 species) are photosynthetic parasitic plants (“hemiparasites”) found from the southwestern United States to South America, whereas Zygophyllaceae (240 species) are free-living and widely distributed in arid to semiarid zones throughout the warmer regions of the world. Some species of the latter family produce especially hard woods, such as lignumvitate (Bulnesia and Guaiacum), and a few others produce medicinal compounds, such as the creosote bush (Larrea). See also: Flower; Lignumvitae; Magnoliophyta; Magnoliopsida; Polygalales; Rosidae; Sapindales

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