n. a group of families of mostly flowers having basal or free-central placentation and trinucleate pollen (binucleate pollen is commoner in flowering plants); it contains 14 families including: Caryophyllaceae (carnations and pinks); Aizoaceae; Amaranthaceae; Batidaceae; Chenopodiaceae; Cactaceae (order Opuntiales); Nyctaginaceae; Phytolaccaceae; it corresponds approximately to order Caryophyllales; it is sometimes classified as a superorder.
Syn. -- subclass Caryophyllidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]