Dicots (or eudicots in modern classifications) form the largest and most diverse branch of the flowering plants. They are characterised by having two seed leaves (cotyledons), net‑veined leaves, and floral parts often arranged in fours or fives. This group includes many of the world’s most familiar wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. From roses and sunflowers to oaks, legumes, and heathers, they span an enormous variety of forms and dominate much of the temperate flora.
Apiales — Carrots, Ivies, and Allies An order of mostly aromatic plants with compound leaves and distinctive umbrella-like flower clusters (umbels).
Asterales — Sunflowers, Bellflowers, Fanflowers, and Allies A massive order characterized by composite flower heads (capitula) that mimic single flowers but are made of many small florets.
Boraginales — Borages An order of mostly hairy herbs with coiled flower clusters and typically rough-textured leaves.
Brassicales — Mustards, Capers, and Allies Plants often containing pungent mustard oils, typically with four-petaled flowers arranged in a cross shape.
Caryophyllales — Pinks, Cactuses, and Allies A diverse order including many succulents and salt-tolerant plants, often with betalain pigments instead of anthocyanins.
Dipsacales — Honeysuckles, Moschatels, and Allies Mostly shrubs or herbs with opposite leaves and often tubular, nectar-rich flowers adapted for pollinators.
Ericales — Heathers, Balsams, Primroses, and Allies A highly diverse order of shrubs, trees, and herbs, often with specialized pollination strategies and symbioses with fungi.
Fabales — Legumes, Milkworts, and Allies An order defined by nitrogen-fixing plants (especially legumes) with distinctive pod-like fruits.
Fagales — Beeches, Oaks, Walnuts, and Allies Mostly wind-pollinated trees and shrubs producing nuts and often forming dominant forest canopies.
Gentianales — Gentians, Dogbanes, Madders, and Allies An order of mostly tropical plants, often with opposite leaves and containing complex chemical compounds (including alkaloids).
Geraniales — Geraniums, Bridal Wreaths, and Allies Mostly herbs or shrubs with five-parted flowers and often beaked fruit structures for seed dispersal.
Lamiales — Mints, Plantains, Olives, and Allies A large order with many aromatic species, typically with opposite leaves and bilaterally symmetrical flowers.
Malpighiales — Nances, Willows, and Allies An extremely diverse order of trees, shrubs, and herbs with wide variation in form and ecology.
Malvales — Mallows, Rock Roses, and Allies Often soft-wooded plants with mucilaginous tissues and flowers having numerous stamens.
Myrtales — Myrtles, Evening Primroses, and Allies An order of trees and shrubs often with oil glands in the leaves and showy flowers with many stamens.
Rosales — Roses, Elms, Figs, and Allies A major order including many woody plants, often with stipules and diverse fruit types.
Sapindales — Soapberries, Cashews, Mahoganies, and Allies Mostly trees and shrubs, often with compound leaves and chemically distinctive resins or oils.
Saxifragales — Saxifrages, Stonecrops, and Allies A morphologically diverse order, often with small flowers and adaptations to rocky or nutrient-poor habitats.
Solanales — Nightshades, Bindweeds, Gooseweeds, and Allies An order of mostly herbaceous plants with fused petals and often alkaloid chemistry.
Other Dicot Orders
Amborellales — Amborella A relict basal angiosperm order represented by a single species with primitive floral features.
Aquifoliales — Hollies and Allies Mostly evergreen trees and shrubs with simple leaves and small, often inconspicuous flowers.
Austrobaileyales — Austrobaileya, Anises, and Allies An early-diverging lineage of woody plants with aromatic tissues and primitive floral structures.
Berberidopsidales — Tape-vines, Olivillo, and Allies A small order of woody plants with scattered distribution and limited morphological diversity.
Bruniales — Blacktips, Columellias, and Allies A minor order of shrubs primarily from the Southern Hemisphere with small clustered flowers.
Buxales — Boxes and Pachysandras Evergreen shrubs and small trees with simple leaves and reduced, often unisexual flowers.
Canellales — Canellas, Winter’s-bark, and Allies Aromatic tropical trees and shrubs with spicy bark and primitive floral traits.
Celastrales — Staff-vines and Allies Mostly woody plants with simple leaves and small flowers, often producing capsules or fleshy fruits.
Ceratophyllales — Coontails An aquatic order of submerged plants lacking true roots and adapted to freshwater habitats.
Chloranthales A small group of aromatic plants with very simple flowers lacking a well-developed perianth.
Cornales — Dogwoods, Hydrangeas, and Allies Trees and shrubs often with opposite leaves and showy bracts or clustered inflorescences.
Crossosomatales — Rockflowers, Bladdernuts, and Allies A small order of shrubs and trees, many adapted to dry or rocky environments.
Cucurbitales — Begonias, Gourds, and Allies An order including many climbing or trailing plants, often with tendrils and unisexual flowers.
Dilleniales — Guinea-flowers and Allies Mostly tropical plants with simple leaves and often conspicuous yellow flowers.
Escalloniales A small order of shrubs and trees, often evergreen and found in Southern Hemisphere regions.
Garryales — Silktassels and Gutta-Percha Woody plants with catkin-like inflorescences and often evergreen foliage.
Gunnerales — Gunneras and Resurrection Plants An unusual order including giant-leaved herbs and small desiccation-tolerant plants.
Huerteales — Dipentodon, Gerrardina, and Allies A very small and poorly known order of woody plants with scattered global distribution.
Icacinales — Icacina, Oncotheca, and Allies Mostly tropical trees and shrubs, often with fleshy fruits and simple leaves.
Laurales — Laurels, Spicebushes, and Allies Aromatic trees and shrubs with oil-rich tissues and often simple, evergreen leaves.
Magnoliales — Magnolias, Nutmegs, and Allies An early-diverging order of woody plants with large, often fragrant flowers and numerous floral parts.
Metteniusales — Metteniusas and Allies A small tropical order of trees with limited distinguishing features.
Nymphaeales — Waterlilies, Fanworts, and Allies An ancient lineage of aquatic plants with floating leaves and large, showy flowers.
Oxalidales — Woodsorrels, Quandongs, and Allies A varied order including herbs, shrubs, and trees, often with compound leaves and sour-tasting tissues.
Paracryphiales A small order of shrubs and trees with scattered Southern Hemisphere distribution.
Picramniales A small tropical order of trees and shrubs, often with bitter compounds.
Piperales — Pepper Plants, Birthworts, and Allies Aromatic plants often with simple flowers arranged in spikes and containing pungent compounds.
Proteales — Proteas, Lotuses, Planes, and Allies A diverse order of trees and shrubs, often with unusual flowers and specialized pollination systems.
Ranunculales — Buttercups, Poppies, and Allies An order of mostly herbaceous plants with numerous, often spirally arranged floral parts.
Santalales — Sandalwoods, Mistletoes, and Allies An order dominated by parasitic or hemiparasitic plants that attach to host plants.
Trochodendrales — Cartwheel Trees and Tetracentrons A small order of woody plants notable for lacking vessel elements in their wood.
Vahliales — Vahlia and Allies A tiny order of herbaceous plants with limited diversity and distribution.
Vitales — Grapes and Allies Mostly climbing plants with tendrils and fleshy fruits, including economically important vines.
Zygophyllales — Caltrops and Ratanies Often drought-adapted plants with compound leaves and adaptations to arid environments.