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Why was Coriariaceae formerly linked with the buttercup family?

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A pile of freshly harvested pumpkins and gourds in various shapes, with striped patterns in shades of yellow, orange, and green. — Cucurbitales Pumpkins and gourds, order Cucurbitales.

Before the advent of modern DNA analysis, the family Coriariaceae was historically linked with the Ranunculaceae (the buttercup family) primarily because both groups possess separate carpels.1

While this morphological trait once suggested a relationship, botanical classification has since been refined through molecular studies, placing Coriariaceae within the order Cucurbitales.