Subclass:
Liliidae
Links to Family Pages:
Agavaceae Liliaceae Aloeaceae Orchidaceae Amaryllidaceae Pontederiaceae Dioscoreaceae Smilacaceae Haemodoraceae Xanthorrhoeaceae Iridaceae
The subclass Liliidae consists of 15 families and nearly 8,000 species, of cosmopolitan distribution. More than 4/5ths of the species belong to just two families, the Orchidaceae and Liliaceae. Nearly half of the species belong to the Liliaceae, a heterogeneous family that is often segregated into dozens of smaller and possibly unrelated families. The Liliidae characteristically, although not always, has showy 3-merous flowers, with the tepals all petaloid, and they have extensively exploited insect pollination with well-developed nectaries. Some Liliidae are arborescent, some possess net-veined leaves, and some have vessel elements throughout the shoot as well as in the root.
Recent molecular phylogenetic studies indicate that the Liliidae has at least 3 distinct lineages: Liliales, including Liliaceae sensu stricto, Smilacaceae, and a number of segregate families of Liliaceae sensu lato; Asparagales, including many of the epigynous Liliaceae segregate families, Iridaceae, and Orchidaceae; and Dioscoreales, including Dioscoreaceae and Burmanniaceae. The Liliidae are likely sister to the morphologically most derived subclass Commelinidae (including Zingiberidae).
