Orchidales is an order of flowering plants. In taxonomical systems, this is a relatively recent name as early systems used descriptive botanical names for the order containing the orchids. The Bentham & Hooker and the Engler systems had the orchids in order Microspermae while the Wettstein system treats them as order Gynandrae (a descriptive name referring to the stamens). In taxonomical systems these two descriptive names have now mostly dropped out of use.

Circumscription of the order will vary with the taxonomic system being used. Although mostly the order will consist of the orchids only (usually in one family only, but sometimes divided into more families, as in the Dahlgren system, see below), sometimes other families are added:

Circumscription in the Takhtajan system

Takhtajan system:

• order Orchidales

  1. family Orchidaceae

Circumscription in the Cronquist system

Cronquist system (1981):

• order Orchidales

  1. family Geosiridaceae

  2. family Burmanniaceae

  3. family Corsiaceae

  4. family Orchidaceae

Circumscription in the Dahlgren system

Dahlgren system:

• order Orchidales

  1. family Neuwiediaceae

  2. family Apostasiaceae

  3. family Cypripediaceae

  4. family Orchidaceae

Circumscription in the Thorne system

Thorne system (1992):

• order Orchidales

  1. family Orchidaceae

Circumscription in the Wettstein system

Wettstein system

• order Gynandrae

  1. family Orchideae

APG system

The order is not recognized in the APG II system, which assigns the orchids to order Asparagales.

See also

• Taxonomy of the orchid family

References