Edited by Ho Dinh Hai Long An - Vietnam Updated: 18/4/2015
1- Introduction to the Family Asparagaceae
1.1- Overview Asparagaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the OrderAsparagales of the monocots. In earlier classification systems, the species involved were often treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae. The APG II system of 2003 allowed two options as to the circumscription of the family: either Asparagaceae sensu lato ("in the wider sense") combining seven previously recognized families, or Asparagaceae sensu stricto ("in the strict sense") consisting of very few genera (notably Asparagus, also Hemiphylacus), but nevertheless totalling a few hundred species. The revised APG III system of 2009 allows only the broader sense. 1.2- Subfamilies of the Family Asparagaceae The APG III system of 2009 proposed seven subfamilies to correspond to the originally separate families. These are: 1- Subfamily Agavoideae = family Agavaceae and family Hesperocallidaceae. 2- Subfamily Aphyllanthoideae = family Aphyllanthaceae 3- SubfamilyAsparagoideae= family Asparagaceae sensu stricto. 4- SubfamilyBrodiaeoideae= family Themidaceae. 5- SubfamilyLomandroideae= family Laxmanniaceae. 6- SubfamilyNolinoideae= family Ruscaceae. 7- Subfamily Scilloideae = family Hyacinthaceae
2- Subfamilies and Genera of the Family Asparagaceae
Unless otherwise noted, the alphabetical list below is based on genera accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as in the family Asparagaceae (with synonyms from the same source). The reference against the subfamily name is to the source which places the genus in that subfamily.
2.2- Subfamily Aphyllanthoideae + Overview: SubfamilyAphyllanthoideae= family Aphyllanthaceae Aphyllanthoideae is a monocot subfamily of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. The subfamily and family names are derived from the generic name of the type genus, Aphyllanthes, endemic to the western Mediterranean region The sufamily has only one species: Aphyllanthes + Genus: AphyllanthesL. Aphyllanthesis a genus of flowering plants with only one species, Aphyllanthes monspeliensis, endemic to the western Mediterranean region. It is the only genus in the Aphyllanthoideae, a subfamily of the familyAsparagaceae. Aphyllanthoideae was formerly treated as a separate family, Aphyllanthaceae.
2.6-Subfamily Nolinoideae + Overview: SubfamilyNolinoideae= family Ruscaceae. Nolinoideaeis amonocotsubfamily of thefamilyAsparagaceaein theAPG III systemof 2009. It was previously treated as a separate family, Ruscaceaes.l.The family name is derived from thegeneric nameof thetypegenus,Nolina. The subfamily includes genera previously placed in a range of different families, including Ruscaceaes.s., Nolinaceae, Dracaenaceae, Convallariaceae and Eriospermaceae. Like many groups oflilioid monocots, the genera included here were once included in a wide interpretation of the familyLiliaceae. + Genera: A possibly incomplete list of the genera included in the Nolinoideae is given below. The reference is to the source which places the genus in this subfamily. The genera currently included here have varied widely in their limits and assignment to families and subfamilies; some former family placements other than Nolinoideae which will be found in the literature are given below. AspidistraKer Gawl.(includingAntherolophusGagnep.,ColaniaGagnep.) BeaucarneaLem. CalibanusRose CampylandraBaker ComospermumRauschert ConvallariaL. DanaeMedik. DasylirionZucc. DisporopsisHance DracaenaVand. ex L. EriospermumJacq. HeteropolygonatumM.N.Tamura & Ogisu LiriopeLour. MaianthemumF.H.Wigg.(includingOligobotryaBaker,SmilacinaDesf.) PeliosanthesAndrews PleomeleSalisb.(often included in Dracaena) PolygonatumMill. ReineckeaKunth RohdeaRoth(includingGonioscyphaBaker) RuscusL. SansevieriaThunb. NolinaMichx. OphiopogonKer Gawl. SemeleKunth SpeiranthaBaker TheropogonMaxim. TupistraKer Gawl. (including Campylandra Baker, Tricalistra Ridl.)
2.7- Subfamily Scilloideae + Overview: SubfamilyScilloideae= family Hyacinthaceae Scilloideae(named after the genusScilla, "squill") is asubfamilyofbulbousplants within the familyAsparagaceae. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate familyHyacinthaceae, named after the genusHyacinthus. Scilloideae or Hyacinthaceae include many familiar garden plants such asHyacinthus(hyacinths), Hyacinthoides(bluebells),Muscari(grape hyacinths) andScillaandPuschkinia(squills or scillas). Some are important as cut flowers. Scilloideae are distributed mostly in Mediterranean climates, includingSouth Africa, Central AsiaandSouth America. Their flowers have six tepals and six stamens with asuperior ovary, which previously placed them within thelily family(Liliaceae), and their leaves are fleshy,mucilaginous, and arranged in abasal rosette. The Scilloideae, like mostlily-like monocots, were at one time placed in a very broadly defined lily family (Liliaceae). The subfamily is recognized in modern classification systems such as theAPG III systemof 2009. It is also treated as the separate family Hyacinthaceae, as it is by many researchers and was in earlier APG systems. Determining the boundaries between genera within the Scilloideae is an active area of research. The number of genera varies widely from source to source, from about 30 to about 70. The situation has been described as being in a "state of flux". + Genera: AlbucaL.(sometimes included inOrnithogalum) Alrawia(Wendelbo) Perss. & Wendelbo BarnardiaLindl. BellevaliaLapeyr.(includingStrangwejaBertol.) BowieaHarv. ex Hook.f.(Climbing Onion, Sea Onion) BrimeuraSalisb. ChionodoxaBoiss.(included inScillaL.by some sources) ×ChionoscillaJ.Allen ex G.Nicholson(included inScillaL.by some sources) DaubenyaLindl.(includingAmphisiphonW.F.Barker,AndrosiphonSchltr.) DipcadiMedik.(sometimes included inOrnithogalumDrimiaJacq.(includingLitanthusHarv.,Rhadamanthus Salisb., RhodocodonBaker,SypharissaSalisb.,TenicroaRaf.,Thuranthos C.H. Wright,UrgineaSteinh.,UrgineopsisCompton). DrimiopsisLindl. & Paxton(sometimes included inLedebouria) EucomisL'Hér. GaltoniaDecne.(included inOrnithogalumL.by some sources) HyacinthellaSchur HyacinthoidesHeist. ex Fabr.(includingEndymionDumort.) HyacinthusTourn. ex L. LachenaliaJacq. Ex Murray(includingBrachyscyphaBaker,PeriboeaKunth, PolyxenaKunth) LedebouriaRoth(includingResnovavan der Merwe) LeopoldiaParl. MassoniaThunb. ex Houtt.(includingNeobakeriaSchltr.,WhiteheadiaHarv.) MerwillaSpeta MuscariMill.(includingBotryanthusKunth,MuscarimiaKostel.,PseudomuscariGarbari & Greuter) OrnithogalumL.(includingBattandieraMaire, Elsiea F.M.Leight., NeopatersoniaSchonl.) OziroeRaf.(includingFortunatiaJ.F.Macbr.) ProsperoSalisb. Pseudogaltonia(Kuntze) Engl.(sometimes included inOrnithogalum) PseudoprosperoSpeta PuschkiniaAdams SchizobasisBaker(sometimes included inDrimia) Schizocarphusvan der Merwe ScillaL. SpetaeaWetschnig & Pfosser VeltheimiaGled.