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Campanulales

Campanulales is a historical taxonomic rank that was used in some 20th-century classifications of flowering plants. In particular, it appears in the Cronquist system (1981) as an order within the subclass Asteridae. The circumscription varied among authors, but the group was centered on the families Campanulaceae (the bellflowers) and Lobeliaceae (lobelias), which share floral features such as a typically bell-shaped or tubular corolla and fused petals. Some treatments also included small associated families such as Sphenocleaceae; the precise membership was not universally agreed.

In modern plant taxonomy Campanulales is no longer recognized as a valid order. With the adoption of

The group is named after Campanula, the type genus of Campanulaceae. Species in this historically circumscribed

molecular-based
systems
such
as
APG
II
and
APG
III/IV,
the
families
formerly
placed
in
Campanulales
are
treated
as
part
of
the
order
Asterales,
within
the
larger
asterid
clade
known
as
Campanulids.
Campanulaceae
and
Lobeliaceae
are
now
considered
members
of
Asterales,
while
other
related
groups
occur
in
nearby
lineages.
The
name
Campanulales
remains
of
historical
interest
and
appears
in
older
literature
and
in
discussions
of
the
evolution
of
asterid
classification.
group
can
be
found
in
temperate
and
tropical
regions
worldwide,
with
many
ornamentals
such
as
Campanula
(bellflowers)
and
Lobelia
species
widely
cultivated
for
their
showy
flowers.