View source for Malvales

==Taxonomy==
Early classifications such as that of [[Rolf Dahlgren|Dahlgren]] placed the Malvales in the [[superorder]] Malviflorae (also called Malvanae). Family boundaries and circumscriptions of the "core" Malvales families, Malvaceae, Bombacaceae, Tiliaceae, and Sterculiaceae, have long been problematic. A close relationship among these families, and particularly Malvaceae and Bombacaceae, has generally been recognized, although until recently most classification systems have maintained them as separate families. With numerous molecular phylogenies showing Sterculiaceae, Bombacaceae, and Tiliaceae as traditionally defined are either paraphyletic or polyphyletic, a consensus has been emerging for a trend to expand Malvaceae to include these three families. This expanded circumscription of Malvaceae has been recognized in the most recent version of the [[Thorne system]], by the [[Angiosperm Phylogeny Group]], and in the most recent comprehensive treatment of vascular plant families and genera, the [[Kubitzki system]].<ref>Bayer, C. and K. Kubitzki. 2003. Malvaceae, pp.&nbsp;225–311. In K. Kubitzki (ed.), ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'', vol. 5, Malvales, Capparales and non-betalain Caryophyllales.
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The dominant family in the [[Angiosperm Phylogeny Group|APG II]]-system is the extended Malvaceae (Malvaceae ''sensu lato'') with over 4225 species, followed by Thymelaeaceae with 898 species. This expanded circumscription of [[Malvaceae]] is taken to include the families [[Bombacaceae]], [[Sterculiaceae]] and [[Tiliaceae]]. Under the older [[Cronquist system]] the order contained these four "core Malvales" families plus the [[Elaeocarpaceae]] and was placed among the [[Dilleniidae]]. Some of the currently included families were placed by Cronquist in the [[Violales]].