Subclass
Magnoliidae
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Subclass consisting of 39 families, and about 12,000 species of angiosperms - often referred to as the Ranalian complex. The Magnoliidae consist largely of those dicots that exhibit one or more features of a syndrome of putatively primitive morphological, anatomical, and chemical characters. The most important of these include 1-pored pollen, apocarpous (unfused) gynoecium, numerous stamens originating in centripetal sequence, lack of vessel elements, and ethereal oils.
The subclass is often considered to be the basal stock of angiosperms, and from which arose monocots and all other dicots. Recent fossil studies and molecular phylogenetic analyses, however, suggest that the subclass is only one of several early radiations of the angiosperms. Molecular phylogenetic studies also clearly demonstrate that all 3-pored pollen members of the subclass Magnoliidae (order Ranunculales and Nelumbonaceae) belong to a large clade - called "eudicots" - that is characterized by 3-pored pollen.
