[4] Under the APG IV system of flowering plant classification the order consists of 24 families,[4] and includes about 23,810 species and 1,059 genera[5] with representatives found all over the world.

[6] Well-known or economically important members of this order include aromatic, culinary, and medicinal herbs such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, perilla, lemon verbena, catnip, bee balm, wild dagga, and oriental motherwort, as well as olives, ash trees, teak, foxgloves, lilacs, jasmine, snapdragons, African violets, Jacarandas, Paulownias, butterfly bushes, sesame, and psyllium.

[3] Plocospermataceae Carlemanniaceae Oleaceae Tetrachondraceae Peltantheraceae Calceolariaceae Gesneriaceae Plantaginaceae Scrophulariaceae Stilbaceae Byblidaceae Linderniaceae Acanthaceae Martyniaceae Pedaliaceae Bignoniaceae Lentibulariaceae Schlegeliaceae Thomandersiaceae Verbenaceae Lamiaceae Mazaceae Phrymaceae Orobanchaceae Paulowniaceae The Lamiales previously had a restricted circumscription (e.g., by Arthur Cronquist) that included the major families Lamiaceae (Labiatae), Verbenaceae, and Boraginaceae, plus a few smaller families.

A 2004 study, on the molecular phylogenetic dating of asterid flowering plants, estimated 106 million years (MY) for the stem lineage of Lamiales.

[15] These habitats include forests, valleys, grasslands, rocky terrain, rainforests, the tropics, temperate regions, marshes, coastlines, and even frozen areas.

[16] Many of these species in the order Lamiales produce medicinal properties from alkaloids and saponins to help a variety of infections and diseases.

[17][16] Plants of the family Acanthaceae have bioactive secondary metabolites within their mature leaves, which have been found to be toxic to insect larvae.