~ Liliaceae - Convallarieae
Including Phlebaceae Dulac (p.p.)
Habit and leaf form. Herbs. `Normal' plants. Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves; rhizomatous, or tuberous. Mesophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral, or distichous; `herbaceous', or leathery; petiolate to sessile; sheathing. Leaf sheaths with free margins. Leaves simple. Lamina entire; lanceolate, or oblong, or ovate (etc.); palmately veined, or parallel-veined, or pinnately veined (convergent-pinnate); without cross-venules; cordate, or attenuate at the base, or cuneate at the base, or oblique at the base. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire; flat.
Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic. Guard-cells not `grass type'.
The mesophyll containing mucilage cells (with raphides); containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides. Vessels absent.
Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem with vessels, or without vessels (usually). Vessel end-walls scalariform.
Root anatomy. Roots with velamen (commonly, in Aspidistra, Polygonatum etc.), or without velamen. Root xylem with vessels. Vessel end-walls scalariform, or reticulately perforated and scalariform.
Reproductive type, pollination. Hermaphrodite. Entomophilous, or pollinated by unusual means (supposedly by slugs - `malacophilous' - in Aspidistra).
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in `inflorescences' (usually). The terminal inflorescence unit when flowers aggregated, cymose (?). Inflorescences scapiflorous, or not scapiflorous; terminal, or axillary; various. Flowers small to medium-sized; regular; 3(-4) merous; cyclic; pentacyclic. Perigone tube present (usually, campanulate or urceolate), or absent (Liriope). Hypogynous disk absent.
Perianth of `tepals'; 6 (usually), or 8; free, or joined; 2 whorled; isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls; green, or white, or green and white, or pink to purple (rarely, and rarely other colours).
Androecium 6 (usually), or 8 (rarely), or 4 (rarely). Androecial members free of the perianth to adnate (often inserted high in the tube); free of one another, or coherent; when coherent, 1 - adelphous (Peliosanthes); 2 - whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 4, or 6 (usually), or 8; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth, or isomerous with the perianth (usually), or diplostemonous. Anthers basifixed (usually), or dorsifixed (Reinbeckea); dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Microsporogenesis successive. Pollen shed as single grains. Pollen grains aperturate, or nonaperturate (Aspidistra); when aperturate, 1 - aperturate; sulcate; 2-celled, or 3-celled.
Gynoecium 3 (always?), or 4 (rarely?). Carpels isomerous with the perianth (usually?). Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior to inferior. Ovary 3 locular, or 4 locular (?). Gynoecium non-stylate to stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1; capitate (or lobate); dry type; papillate. Placentation basal, or axile, or apical. Ovules 2-4 per locule; anatropous to campylotropous, or orthotropous (almost); crassinucellate (mostly), or pseudocrassinucellate. Embryo-sac development Allium-type (usually), or Scilla-type, or Drusa-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; ephemeral. Endosperm formation nuclear.
Fruit fleshy (usually), or non-fleshy; indehiscent (usually), or dehiscent; a capsule (Liriope, Ophiopogon), or a berry. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Seeds wingless. Embryo well differentiated. Cotyledons 1. Embryo achlorophyllous (4/5). Testa without phytomelan; sometimes bright blue.
Physiology, biochemistry. Not cyanogenic. Alkaloids absent (?). Proanthocyanidins absent. Flavonols present, or absent (e.g. Aspidistra); kaempferol and quercetin. Ellagic acid absent. Saponins/sapogenins present (steroidal, in abundance).
Geography, cytology. Holarctic, Paleotropical, and Neotropical. Mainly northern hemisphere.
Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Superorder Liliiflorae; Asparagales. Species about 65. Genera about 11; Aspidistra, Convallaria, Liriope, Lourya, Maianthemum, Ophiopogon, Peliosanthes, Polygonatum, Reineckea, Smilacina, Tupistra.
Illustrations. conva855.gif
Additional, to be intercalated. Flowers when flowers solitary, axillary.
