Systematic Position (According to Bentham and Hooker, 1862)
Kingdom: Plantae
Sub-kingdom: Phanerogamae
Division: Angiosperm
Class: Monocotyledonae
Series: Coronarieae
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Introduction to Liliaceae
The family Liliaceae is commonly referred to as the Lily family because it includes many well-known and popular plants belonging to the genus Lilium, which contains the true lilies. The genus Lilium has over 100 species of lilies, which are found in temperate and sub-tropical regions around the world.
- The family Liliaceae is a large family of flowering plants that includes not only true lilies but also several other genera such as Allium (onion, garlic), Urginea (wild onion), Tulipa (Tulip) and Fritillaria (Himalayan Fritillar).
- This is a moderately large family consisting of about 254 genera and nearly 4075 known species.
Distribution of Liliaceae
- The members of the Liliaceae family are found throughout the world. However, most of the plants are abundant and widely distributed in fairly dry, temperate to subtropical regions of Northern hemisphere.
Habit and Habitat of Liliaceae
- Liliaceae are mostly perennial herbs persisting through a sympodial rhizome or bulb, shrubby or tree-like, woody climbers, climbing with the help of stipular tendrils, rarely trees or succulents.
- Both cultivated and wild form are found. Cultivated species are mainly grown for vegetables, spices, ornamental and medicinal purposes.
- Liliaceae exhibit a range of adaptations and can be found in diverse ecosystem such as forests, grasslands, and mountainous regions.
Vegetative Characteristics of Liliaceae
- Root: Adventitious and fibrous, sometimes tuberous (Asparagus).
- Stem: Herbaceous or woody, solid or fistular, aerial erect (Dracaena) or climbing (Smilax) or underground, the underground stem may be corm (Colchicum), bulb (Allium) or rhizome. Arial stem modified into phylloclade (Ruscus) and cladodes (Asparagus).
- Leaf: Radical (Lilium) or cauline (Dracaena); usually alternate, opposite (Gloriosa), or whorled; the shape is variable, sometimes fleshy and hollow, reduced to scales (Ruscus and Asparagus), thick succulent and mucilaginous (Aloe); exstipulate, rarely stipulate (Smilax) and stipules are modified into tendrils; sessile or petiolate, sheathing leaf base. The venation is usually parallel, rarely reticulate (Smilax and Trillium).
Floral Diagram of Liliaceae
Floral Characteristics of Liliaceae
- Inflorescence: Usually simple raceme (Lilium) or compound raceme (Asphodelus); spikes in Aloe, sometimes reduced to a single (solitary) terminal flower (Tulipa), huge terminal panicle in Yucca, solitary and auxillary in Gloriosa, rarely cymose umbel (Allium, Smilax)
- Flowers: Flowers are often showy, pedicellate, bracteates, usually ebracteolate except Dianella and Lilum, usually bisexual or rarely unisexual (Smilax, Ruscus); incomplete; trimerous, rarely tetramerous (Maianthemum); hypogynous.
- Perianth: Tepals 6, more than six in Paris quadrifolia; biseriate, arranged in two whorls of 3 each, apotepalous or rarely syntepalous (Aloe, Asparagus); usually petaloid or sometimes sepaloid, odd tepal of the outer whorl is anterior in position, valvate or imbricate aestivation, perianth may be membranous with lines or marks in other colors or shades. The perianth is either homochlamydeous or dichlamydeous and may be united into a tube.
- Androecium: Stamens 6, arranged in 2 whorls of 3 each, polyandrous, rarely synstamenous (Ruscus); opposite to the tepals, sometimes epitepalous (epiphyllous) and diplostemonous (outer whorl of stamens opposite to outer tepals and inner whorl opposite to inner tepals); filaments-long, distinct or connate; anthers-dithecous, basifixed or versatile, extrose, or introse, dehiscing usually by vertical slit and sometimes by terminal pores
- Gynoecium: tricarpellary; syncarpous, the odd carpel usually anterior; ovary superior, rarely inferior, trilocular, with 2 rows of numerous anatropous ovules on axile placentation; rarely unilocular with parietal placentation; style-simple, usually one; stigma-trilobed; nectar secreting sepal glands are present in the ovary.
- Fruits and seed: usually a septicidal (splitting between the separating septa) or loculicidal (splitting along the locules), capsule or a berry (Asparagus, Smilax); seed – endospermic with horny or cartilaginous endosperm.
- Pollination: Entomophilous cross-pollination, but sometimes self-pollination also occurs.
Floral Formula of Liliaceae
Floral Formula of Liliaceae Breakdown:
Br – Bracteate (presence of a bract)
⊕ – Actinomorphic flower (radial symmetry)
⚥ – Bisexual flower (both male and female reproductive parts)
P(3+3) – Perianth with 6 tepals in two whorls of 3, united
A₃+₃ – Androecium with 6 stamens in two whorls of 3
G̲(3) – Gynoecium tricarpellary, syncarpous, superior ovary
Economic Importance of Liliaceae
- Food value: Many species such as Allium cepa (Onion), Allium sativum (Garlic), and Asparagus are edible and used as vegetables and condiments.
- Medicines: Several species of the family Liliaceae such as Aloe vera, A. barbadens, Asparagus racemosus, Gloriosa superba, Smilax glabra, etc yield useful drugs. The roots of Asparagus yields a tonic.
- Fibre value: Some species such as Yucca, Phormium tenax yield fibres that can be used for the preparation of cordage, fishing rope, mat, etc.
- Insecticides and Pesticides: Rat poison is obtained from Urginea and the bulbs of Scilla. The bulb of Veratrum album are used as insecticides.
- Poisonous effects: some species like Lilium longiflorum, Fritillaria imperialis, Fritillaria meleagris, etc are poisonous and can have adverse health effects in human and household pets.
- Ornamental purpose: They are used as ornamental plants to decorate our homes and gardens. Tulipa, Fritillaria, Lilium, Gloriosa, Dracaena and Erythronium are important ornamental plants that are grown worldwidefor their attractive flowers and involved in major floriculture of cut flower and dry bulbs.
- Resin: Dracaena and Xanthorrhoea yield resin that can be used for various commercial purposes.
Identifying Characteristics of Liliaceae
- The Liliaceae family contains flowers that are bracteates, actinomorphic, bisexual, trimerous and hypogynous in nature.
- Within the family, there are six tepals that form a fused and arranged perianth in a gamophyllous and biseriate manner.
- The androecium consists of six stamens arranged in two whorls, with all of them being epiphyllous and having a polyandrous structure.
- The gynoecium is syncarpous and tricarpellary, housing an ovary that is superior in position. The ovary exhibits axile placentation.
Some common plants of Liliaceae Family
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Uses / Importance |
|---|---|---|
| True Lilies | Lilium spp. | Ornamental flowers; bulb extracts used in traditional medicine for respiratory relief, and as mild sedatives; also used in cosmetics (e.g. sunscreens, moisturizers) |
| Tulips | Tulipa spp. | Major floriculture crop for ornamental use; widely planted in parks and borders |
| Snake’s-head Fritillary | Fritillaria meleagris | Garden ornamental and wildflower symbol; also used symbolically and in conservation |
| Medicinal Fritillaria spp. | Fritillaria spp. | Bulbs used in traditional Chinese medicine for cough, asthma, fever, and respiratory issues; contain bioactive alkaloids |
| Yellow Fritillary | Fritillaria pudica | Edible bulbs traditionally consumed by Indigenous peoples; also ornamental |
| Globe Lilies (e.g. L. concolor) | Lilium concolor | Bulbs used as food and medicine (expectorant, sedative); flowers used for perfume |
| Regal Lily | Lilium regale | Cultivated as a prized ornamental for its fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers |
References
- Babu Ram Paudel and Rojan Tapol, Heritage Biology Grade XI, Heritage publisher and distributors, Bhotahity, Kathmandu.
- Arvind K. Keshari and K.K Adhikari, A text book of Higher Secondary Biology Class XI, Vidhyarti Pustak Bhandar publisher and Distribution, Bhotahity Kathmandu.
- https://collegedunia.com/exams/floral-formula-of-liliaceae-features-description-biology-articleid-4601#for
- https://www.aakash.ac.in/important-concepts/biology/family-liliaceae
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- https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/liliaceae/
- https://www.nativeplants.org/wp-content/uploads/liliaceae-new.pdf
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- https://www.sarthaks.com/2186149/the-floral-formula-belongs-to-plant