Hamamelidales is an order offlowering plants formerly accepted in a number ofsystems of plant taxonomy, including theCronquist system published in 1968 and 1988. The order is not currently accepted in theAngiosperm Phylogeny Group III system of plant taxonomy, the most widely accepted system as molecular systematic studies have suggested that these families are not closely related to each other.[1][2] TheAPG II system (2003) assigns them to several different orders: Hamamelidaceae and Cercidiphyllaceae toSaxifragales, Eupteleaceae toRanunculales, Platanaceae toProteales, and Myrothamnaceae toGunnerales.[2] Additional studies of thechloroplast genome have since confirmed that the families moved into the Saxifragales are closely related.[3]
TheCronquist system (1981) included the order in subclassHamamelidae with thecircumscription: