An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), in the subclass Magnoliidae of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The order consists of two families, Illiciaceae and Schisandraceae, with fewer than a hundred species in all. They are all woody, with scattered spherical cells containing volatile oils. The leaves are alternate and simple. The flowers are solitary or a few clustered together, regular, and hypogynous; the perianth has five to many segments that are not clearly differentiated into sepals and petals. The Illiciales are related to the Magnoliales and have sometimes been included in that order, but they are apparently more advanced in having fundamentally triaperturate pollen. Illicium, with about 40 species in southeastern Asia and in the Caribbean region, is the source of the spice star anise.