An order of flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae), in the subclass Asteridae of the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The order consists of 12 families and more than 11,000 species. The largest families are the Scrophulariaceae (about 4000 species), Acanthaceae (about 2500 species), Gesneriaceae (about 2500 species), Bignoniaceae (about 800 species), and Oleaceae (about 600 species). The Scrophulariales are Asteridae, with a usually superior ovary and generally either with an irregular corolla or with fewer stamens than corolla lobes, or commonly both. They uniformly lack stipules.