| authority = [[Friedrich von Berchtold|Bercht.]] & [[Jan Svatopluk Presl|J.Presl]]<ref name=APGIII2009>{{Cite journal |last=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2009 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=105–121 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x |doi-access=free |hdl=10654/18083 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
| authority = [[Friedrich von Berchtold|Bercht.]] & [[Jan Svatopluk Presl|J.Presl]]<ref name=APGIII2009>{{Cite journal |last=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2009 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=105–121 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x |doi-access=free |hdl=10654/18083 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision_ranks = Families
Line 45:
Line 45:
== Economic importance ==
== Economic importance ==
The most commercially used plant in the order is [[tea]] (''Camellia sinensis'') from the family [[Theaceae]]. The order also includes some edible fruits, including [[kiwifruit]] (esp. [[Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa|''Actinidia chinensis'' var. ''deliciosa'']]), [[persimmon]] (genus ''Diospyros''), [[blueberry]], [[huckleberry]], [[cranberry]], [[Brazil nut]], and [[Mamey sapote]]. The order also includes [[Vitellaria|shea]] (''Vitellaria paradoxa''), which is the major dietary lipid source for millions of sub-Saharan Africans. Many Ericales species are cultivated for their showy flowers: well-known examples are [[azalea]], [[rhododendron]], [[camellia]], [[Calluna|heather]], [[Primula|polyanthus]], [[cyclamen]], [[phlox]], and [[busy Lizzie]].
The most commercially used plant in the order is [[tea]] (''Camellia sinensis'') from the family [[Theaceae]]. The order also includes some edible fruits, including [[kiwifruit]] (esp. [[Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa|''Actinidia chinensis'' var. ''deliciosa'']]), [[persimmon]] (genus ''Diospyros''), [[blueberry]], [[huckleberry]], [[cranberry]], [[Brazil nut]], and [[Mamey sapote]]. The order also includes [[Vitellaria|shea]] (''Vitellaria paradoxa''), which is the major dietary lipid source for millions of sub-Saharan Africans. Many Ericales species are cultivated for their showy flowers: well-known examples are [[azalea]], ''[[Rhododendron]]'', ''[[Camellia]]'', [[Calluna|heather]], ''[[Primula]]'', ''[[Cyclamen]]'', ''[[Phlox]]'', and [[busy Lizzie]].
Many species have five petals, often grown together. Fusion of the petals as a trait was traditionally used to place the order in the subclass Sympetalae.[4]
Ericales are a cosmopolitan order. Areas of distribution of families vary largely – while some are restricted to tropics, others exist mainly in Arctic or temperate regions. The entire order contains over 8,000 species, of which the Ericaceae account for 2,000–4,000 species (by various estimates).
According to molecular studies, the lineage that led to Ericales diverged from other plants about 127 million years[5] or diversified 110 million years ago.[6]
These make up an early diverging group of asterids.[8] Under the Cronquist system, the Ericales included a smaller group of plants, which were placed among the Dilleniidae:
↑Robyns, W. (31 December 1972). "Outline of a New System of Orders and Families of Sympetalae". Bulletin du Jardin Botanique National de Belgique. 42 (4): 363–372. doi:10.2307/3667661. JSTOR3667661.
↑Bremer, Birgitta; Kåre Bremera; Nahid Heidaria; Per Erixona; Richard G. Olmsteadb; Arne A. Anderbergc; Mari Källersjöd; Edit Barkhordarian (August 2002). "Phylogenetics of asterids based on 3 coding and 3 non-coding chloroplast DNA markers and the utility of non-coding DNA at higher taxonomic levels". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 24 (2): 274–301. Bibcode:2002MolPE..24..274B. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00240-3. PMID12144762.
du Mortier, B.C.J. (1829). Analyse des Familles de Plantes : avec l'indication des principaux genres qui s'y rattachent. 28. Tournay: Imprimerie de J. Casterman.
Smets, E.; Pyck, N. (February 2003). "Ericales (Rhododendron)". Nature Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Nature Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
