Malpighiales

Malpighiales Temporal range: Late Cretaceous – recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Flower of Calophyllum inophyllum (Calophyllaceae)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Clade:	Fabids
Order:	Malpighiales Juss. ex Bercht. & J.Presl[1]
Type genus
Malpighia L.
Families
Achariaceae Balanopaceae Bonnetiaceae Calophyllaceae Caryocaraceae Centroplacaceae Chrysobalanaceae Clusiaceae Ctenolophonaceae Dichapetalaceae Elatinaceae Erythroxylaceae Euphorbiaceae Euphroniaceae Goupiaceae Humiriaceae Hypericaceae Irvingiaceae Ixonanthaceae Lacistemataceae Linaceae Lophopyxidaceae Malpighiaceae Ochnaceae Pandaceae Passifloraceae Peraceae Phyllanthaceae Picrodendraceae Podostemaceae Putranjivaceae Rafflesiaceae Rhizophoraceae Salicaceae Trigoniaceae Violaceae
Synonyms
Rhizophorales

The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest orders of flowering plants, containing about 36 families and more than 16,000 species, about 7.8% of the eudicots.^[2][3] The order is very diverse, containing plants as different as the willow, violet, poinsettia, manchineel, rafflesia and coca plant, and are hard to recognize except with molecular phylogenetic evidence. It is not part of any of the classification systems based only on plant morphology. Molecular clock calculations estimate the origin of stem group Malpighiales at around 100 million years ago (Mya) and the origin of crown group Malpighiales at about 90 Mya.^[4]

The Malpighiales are divided into 32 to 42 families, depending upon which clades in the order are given the taxonomic rank of family.^[5] In the APG III system, 35 families were recognized.^[1] Medusagynaceae, Quiinaceae, Peraceae, Malesherbiaceae, Turneraceae, Samydaceae, and Scyphostegiaceae were consolidated into other families. The largest family, by far, is the Euphorbiaceae, with about 6300 species in about 245 genera.^[6]

In a 2009 study of DNA sequences of 13 genes, 42 families were placed into 16 groups, ranging in size from one to 10 families. The relationships among these 16 groups remain poorly resolved.^[5] Malpighiales and Lamiales are the two large orders whose phylogeny remains mostly unresolved.^[7]

Some examples of notable species include cassava, a tuber that is a major staple food crop in much of the world; the stinking corpse lily, which produces the largest known flower of any plant; the willows; flaxseed, an important food and fiber crop; Saint John's wort, a herb with a long history of medicinal uses; castor bean, the source of the infamous poison ricin; passionfruit, which produces an edible fruit and psychoactive flowers with a history of traditional medicinal uses; poinsettia, a common ornamental plant; the mangosteen; manchineel tree, one of the most toxic trees in the world; poplars, aspens and cottonwoods which are commonly used for timber – and many more.