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Magnoliids are are a group of about 9,000 species of mainly woody flowering plants that are neither monocots nor 'dicots'. Like all angiosperms they have flowers and produce seeds that are enclosed in fruits. They have at least three of the following: Flower parts are numerous or in 3's or multiples of 3, leaves have netted venation, seeds possess 2 seed leaves (cotyledons), and pollen grains have one opening. Secondary growth is present in most species; Many magnoliids posess a number of ancestral angiosperm features such as apocarpous flowers (multiple simple pistils) with many parts and simple evergreen leaves. Local examples include Magnolia sp. (magnolias), Sassafras albidum (sassafras), Asimina sp. (pawpaws), Persea borbonea (redbay), and Saururus cernuus (lizard tail).
