Abstract:
Linnaeus (1751) placed the Piperaceae in the monocotyledons among the Piperitae which included the Aroideae; Jussieu (1789) held that they were near the Urticaceae; Kunth (1840) ranked them with the monocotyledons. De Candolle (1886) however, following Jussieu, stated that embryo characters indicated their dicotyledonous character. Engler and Prantl (1894) put the order Piperales among the lower Archichlamydeae and Rendle (1938) puts the Piperaceae in the Monochlamydeae, while Hutchinson (1826) believes the Piperales are derived from Ranalean stock.