Austrobaileya, Anises, and Allies

Austrobaileyales is an order of flowering plants consisting of about 100 species of woody plants growing as trees, shrubs and lianas. A well known example is Illicium verum, commonly known as star anise. The order belongs to the group of basal angiosperms, the ANA grade (Amborellales, Nymphaeales, and Austrobaileyales), which diverged earlier from the remaining flowering plants. Austrobaileyales is sister to all remaining extant angiosperms outside the ANA grade.

The order includes just three families of flowering plants: the Austrobaileyaceae, a monotypic family containing the sole genus, Austrobaileya scandens, a woody liana; the Schisandraceae, a family of trees, shrubs, or lianas containing essential oils; and the Trimeniaceae, essential oil-bearing trees and lianas.