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Asphodelaceae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Yellow Asphodel (Asphodeline lutea)
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Asphodelaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has not been recognized by very many taxonomists and the circumscription of the family has varied.
The APG II system, of 2003, does not recognize this family as such, but allows it to be segregated from the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, as an optional segregate. In as far as APG II accepts this family it is placed in the order Asparagales, in the clade monocots. This is a slight change from the APG system, of 1998, which did firmly accept such a family.
According to the AP-website, the family now includes over a dozen genera, totalling some eight hundred species. The best known genus is Aloe (also spelled Aloë). Such a family is native to Africa and the Mediterranean basin to Central Asia, with one genus (Bulbinella) in New Zealand. The greatest diversity occurs in South Africa.
- Bulbinella hookeri (Syn. Anthericum chrysobactron, Anthericum hookeri) is a distinctive New Zealand plant, 15 to 20 inches high, with bright yellow flowers, in long spikes in early summer. It grows best in moist, deep soils.
- Echeandia flavescens is a plant having basal grasslike leaves and a narrow open cluster of star-like yellowish-orange flowers atop a leafless stalk, found in southwestern United States.
External links :
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- Asphodelaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 9th March 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- links at CSDL, Texas
- A listing of genera