comprising seed plants that produce an embryo with paired cotyledons and net-veined leaves; divided into six (not always well distinguished) subclasses (or superorders): Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae (considered primitive), Caryophyllidae (an early and distinctive offshoot), and three more or less advanced groups: Dilleniidae, Rosidae, Asteridae | an order of dicotyledonous plants, containing the families Anacardiaceae, Biebersteiniaceae, Burseraceae, Kirkiaceae, Meliaceae, Nitrariaceae, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae, and Simaroubaceae (Sapindales) |