Magnoliaceae (family)

Family of flowering plants consisting of 7 genera and around 225 species. It is considered an ancient family; unlike most angiosperms, with flower parts arranged in rings, the stamens and pistils of Magnoliaceae are arranged in spirals on a conical receptacle, an arrangement found in some fossil plants. The flowers also have parts not distinctly differentiated into sepals and petals, while later angiosperms generally have distinctly differentiated sepals and petals.