Centrospermae
- noun
- Archaic
- In old botanical classifications, Centrospermae referred to a group of flowering plants before it was replaced by the order Caryophyllales.
Examples
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Botanists now consider Centrospermae an outdated taxonomic grouping, replacing it with Caryophyllales.
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The family Amaranthaceae was once classified under Centrospermae in older botanical texts.
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Historical references to Centrospermae can still be found in early 20th-century plant taxonomy literature.
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The classification of Centrospermae has changed over the years.
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Many botanists no longer use the term Centrospermae.
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In historical plant taxonomy, Centrospermae included several families that are now categorized differently.
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Many students of botany learn about Centrospermae when studying the evolution of plant classification systems.
Synonyms
A group of flowering plants that includes cacti, carnations, and amaranths
A group of flowering plants that includes the goosefoot family and related families
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word Centrospermae breaks into the parts centro- and -spermae, which mean 'center' and 'seed'. Botanists once used it for a group of plants with seeds in the middle of the fruit, so the name shows why it was used for that old plant group now replaced by Caryophyllales.