~ Liliaceae
Excluding Doryanthaceae, Hypoxidaceae
Habit and leaf form. Herbs. Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves; bulbaceous, or rhizomatous (in that a few have structures transitional between rhizomes and bulbs). Mesophytic. Leaves mostly deciduous; alternate; spiral, or distichous; `herbaceous'; sessile, or petiolate (or almost so); sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; linear, or lanceolate, or oblong, or ovate, or orbicular; parallel-veined; without cross-venules. Lamina margins entire. Leaves with a persistent basal meristem, and basipetal development.
General anatomy. Accumulated starch other than exclusively `pteridophyte type'.
Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic.
Lamina dorsiventral. The mesophyll containing mucilage cells (with raphides); containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (Amaryllis, Zephyranthes). Vessels absent.
Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem without vessels. Sieve-tube plastids P-type; type II.
Root anatomy. Root xylem with vessels. Vessel end-walls scalariform.
Reproductive type, pollination. Hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the perianth (from the inner tepals, in Galanthieae), or from the gynoecium (from septal nectaries).
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in `inflorescences'; in cymes (variously condensed), or in umbels, or in heads. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences scapiflorous; cymose, but often umbels or heads by condensation; with involucral bracts (2-8 free or connate scales), or without involucral bracts; spatheate. Flowers regular to somewhat irregular to very irregular; when irregular, somewhat zygomorphic; 3 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic, or pentacyclic. Perigone tube present (short to long), or absent.
Perianth of `tepals'; 6; free to joined; 2 whorled (3+3, but often with a conspicuous `corona', like an extra, inner whorl); isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls; white, or yellow, or purple, or red (not blue).
Androecium (3-)6(-18) (nearly always 3+3). Androecial members free of the perianth, or adnate (to the tube); free of one another, or coherent; when joined 1 - adelphous; nearly always 2 - whorled (3+3). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (at least, reduction to staminodes not mentioned by Dahlgren et al. 1985). Stamens 3 (in Zephyra), or 6 (usually), or 9-18 (Gethyllis); isomerous with the perianth (rarely), or diplostemonous; (nearly always?) al\ter\ni\peri\anthial; filantherous (the filaments sometimes appendaged alongside the anthers). Filaments appendiculate (the connate filaments sometimes expanded to form a staminal corona), or not appendiculate. Anthers dorsifixed (epipeltate), or basifixed (rarely); versatile (usually), or non-versatile; dehiscing via pores, or dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse (usually), or latrorse (e.g. Crinum); tetrasporangiate. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. The thickenings spiral. Microsporogenesis successive. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral, or decussate. Tapetum glandular (usually), or amoeboid. Pollen grains aperturate; 1(-2) - aperturate; sulcate (usually), or sulculate (Amaryllideae); 2-celled.
Gynoecium 3. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; inferior, or partly inferior (rarely). Ovary 3 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1, or 3; 1-3 - lobed; capitate; dry type (mostly), or wet type (some); papillate; Group II type and Group III type. Placentation axile. Ovules 12-50 per locule (i.e. several to many'); non-arillate; anatropous; without integuments (rarely), or unitegmic, or bitegmic (usually); crassinucellate, or pseudocrassinucellate. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type (usually), or Allium-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; ephemeral, or persistent (often). Synergids hooked (with filiform apparatus). Hypostase present (Zephyranthes), or absent. Endosperm formation nuclear, or helobial.
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule, or a berry. Capsules loculicidal. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Seeds winged, or wingless. Seeds without starch. Cotyledons 1. Embryo achlorophyllous (5/5), or chlorophyllous (two species of Haemanthus); straight. Testa encrusted with phytomelan (most), or without phytomelan.
Physiology, biochemistry. Cyanogenic, or not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present, or absent. Proanthocyanidins absent. Flavonols present, or absent; when present, quercetin, or kaempferol and quercetin. Ellagic acid absent. Saponins/sapogenins absent. Inulin not found (Gibbs 1974). C3. C3 recorded in Zephyranthes. Anatomy non-C4 type (Zephyranthes).
Geography, cytology. Holarctic, Paleotropical, Neotropical, Cape, and Australian. Temperate (a few), or sub-tropical and tropical (many). Widespread.
Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Superorder Liliiflorae; Asparagales. Species about 800. Genera about 60; Amaryllis, Apodolirion, Boophane, Brunsvigia, Calostemma, Carpolyza, Chlidanthus, Clivia, Crinum, Cryptostephanus, Cyrtanthus, Eucharis, Eurycles, Eustephia, Galanthus, Gethyllis, Grittonia, Haemanthus, Hessea, Hippeastrum, Hymenocallis, Leucojum, Lycoris, Narcissus, Nerine, Pancratium, Phaedranassa, Rauhia, Rhodophiala, Scadoxus, Sprekelia, Stenomesson, Sternbergia, Strumaria, Ungernia, Vagaria, Zephyranthes (Dahlgren et al. 1985).
Economic uses, etc. Many cultivated ornamentals.
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