Scitamineae is a descriptive botanical name. Historically it has been applied to a remarkably stable group of flowering plants, now referred to as Zingiberales:
In the Wettstein system, last revised in 1935, it was circumscribed:
family Musaceae
family Zingiberaceae
family Cannaceae
family Marantaceae
In the Engler system, update of 1964, it was circumscribed:
family Musaceae
family Zingiberaceae
family Cannaceae
family Marantaceae
family Lowiaceae
The Cronquist system, of 1981, also treats the plants so united as a unit, also at the rank of order, but by splitting has increased the number of families to eight, in total). However, the order is named Zingiberales and is placed in subclass Zingiberidae, which in its turn belongs to the class Liliopsida [=monocotyledons].
The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), recognises this same order Zingiberales (with the same eight families) but assigns it to the clade commelinids in the monocots.