Caryophyllales

Caryophyllales, pink or carnation order of dicotyledonous flowering plants. The order includes 37 families, which contain some 12,000 species in 722 genera. Nearly half of the families are very small, with less than a dozen species each.

quinoa

ball cactus

slender pitcher plant

ice plant

Caryophyllales is a diverse order that includes trees, shrubs, lianas, mangroves, stem or leaf succulents, annuals, and even insectivores. Many members of the order are ecologically specialized to tolerate salty or desertlike environments. Some have distinctive physiological adaptations to cope with these habitats, including carnivorous digestion and either C₄ or CAM photosynthesis pathways. The order is important as a source of food plants, including amaranth, rhubarb, quinoa, and spinach, and ornamentals such as cacti, carnations, four-o’clocks, ice plants, and globe amaranths.

In the 2016 Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV (APG IV) botanical classification system (see angiosperm), Caryophyllales occupies a basal position within the core eudicots. Major families in the order include Caryophyllaceae (2,200 species), Amaranthaceae (2,050–2,500 species), Aizoaceae (2,020 species), Cactaceae (1,500 species), Polygonaceae (1,100 species), Plumbaginaceae (836 species), Portulacaceae (500 species), Nyctaginaceae (395 species), Droseraceae (155 species), Frankeniaceae (90 species), Nepenthaceae (90 species), Tamaricaceae (90 species), Molluginaceae (87 species), Phytolaccaceae (65 species), and Basellaceae (20 species).