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How do Lamiales plants store carbohydrates instead of starch?
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Lamiales
The lilac-pink flowers of the water mint attract butterflies and beetles.
In the plant order Lamiales, carbohydrates are stored as oligosaccharides rather than as starch.1
Oligosaccharides are carbohydrates composed of a small number of simple sugar units, typically ranging from three to six monosaccharides. This method of carbohydrate storage is a notable characteristic that helps distinguish the expanded Lamiales order within the APG IV classification system.21