Amaryllidaceae
- Related Topics:
- narcissus
- Allioideae
- snowdrop
- Cornish lily
- Crinum
Amaryllidaceae, amaryllis family of perennial herbs in the flowering plant order Asparagales, containing 73 genera and at least 1,600 species, distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Members of the family have bulbs or underground stems, several strap- or lance-shaped leaves grouped at the base of the stem or arranged alternately along the stem, flowers usually with three or six petals and three or six sepals, and fruits that are typically dry capsules or fleshy berries.
The family is divided into three subfamilies: Amaryllidoideae, Agapanthoideae, and Allioideae. Amaryllidoideae is the largest of these and features many garden ornamentals, especially the belladonna lily (Amaryllis belladonna), snowdrop (Galanthus), snowflake (Leucojum), and daffodil (Narcissus). Many tropical lilylike plants also belong to the subfamily, such as the Cape tulip, or blood lily (Haemanthus), Cornish lily (Nerine), and Hippeastrum; the hippeastrums, grown for their large, showy flowers, are commonly known as amaryllis. An ornamental Eurasian plant known as winter daffodil (Sternbergia lutea) is often cultivated in borders or rock gardens. Natal lily, or Kaffir lily (Clivia miniata), a South African perennial, is cultivated as a houseplant for its orange flowers lined with yellow.
The subfamily Allioideae (formerly the family Alliaceae) contains a number of important food crops, including onion (Allium cepa), garlic (A. sativum), leek (A. porrum), and chive (A. schoenoprasum).
Agapanthoideae consists of a single genus, Agapanthus, native to South Africa. The African lily, or lily of the Nile (Agapanthus africanus), is a common garden ornamental in warm climates.