Nelumbonaceae, sometimes called the lotus family, is a family of flowering plants. While, in the past, members of the family have been included in the waterlily family, Nymphaeaceae, it is now widely accepted, following molecular studies, that the Nelumbonaceae are actually an example of convergent evolution and are highly modified eudicots belonging to the order Proteales, their closest living relatives being the plane trees and Proteaceae. The APG III system of 2009 (unchanged from the earlier APG system of 1998 and the APG II system of 2003) places the family in the order Proteales, in the clade eudicots.