Asparagus family |
The asparagus gave the family its name
The family contained originally only two 2 genera (Asparagus and Hemiphylacus) with about 250 species. Today are summarised here about 150 genera with approx. 2500 species. For ease of reference they are divided into seven subfamilies:
Aphyllanthoideae
Lindley,
Brodiaeoideae Traub,
Scilloideae
Burnett,
Agavoideae
Herbert,
Lomandroideae Thorne & Reveal,
Asparagoideae Burmeister
and finally the
Nolinoideae
Burnett.
The major restructuring has its cause in the study of nuclear and plastid DNA and subsequent analysis of the sequences with statistical programs. Thus, for example, showed close affinities of the hyacinth family (Hyacinthaceae) and the agave family (Agavaceae) to the Asparagaceae.
For this reason today belong so different genera such as Asparagus, Convallaria, Dracaena, plantain lilies (Hosta), hyacinths (Hyacinthus), squill (Scilla), agaves and Yucca to the family described here.
Interesting notes
- The "palm lily" or "tree lily" called ornamental or houseplant (Yucca gloriosa) does not belong to the palm family (Arecaceae) nor to the lily family (Liliaceae) but is now one of the Asparagaceae. There it belongs to the subfamily Agavoideae.