Illiciales is an
order of
flowering plants that is not recognized by the current most widely used
system of plant classification, the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group's
APG III system. The order was comprised differently in various systems of plant taxonomy, but is composed of 2-4 families of
shrubs,
trees, and
lianas native to
Australasia, south eastern
Asia, and the southeastern
United States. The families all contain species with
essential oils, and flowers with a
perianth with bracts (when present), sepals, and petals incompletely distinguished from each other and not arranged in definite
whorls. The families of the order had been variably placed in other orders (
Magnoliales,
Austrobaileyales) in different taxonomies.