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Liliaceae
Lily Family
By: Sandy
Popp and George Rogers
The
Liliaceae are an enormous worldwide assemblage of several thousand species
defined differently by different authorities, with modern DNA-based analysis
helping to settle the boundaries. We have taken a broad view of the family to
include genera often segregated into other families-such as Agavaceae, Alliaceae,
Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, and many others. Our broad view does not reflect
taxonomic conviction nor current molecular research, but rather mere convenience
and consistency with many horticultural references. For discussion of the
intricacies of classifying the Liliaceae satellite families, see SMI and UTE.
Members of the Liliaceae usually have more or less linear or elliptic leaves
with parallel veins, flowers with 6 tepals, 6 stamens, and 3 united carpels.
For an important taxonomic treatment consulted for the present account, see
Utech, F. Liliaceae. Flora of North America, Vol. 26. Online date 2003 (UTE).
Key to
Important Liliaceae (defined broadly) Cultivated in South Florida
1. Plants
leaf-succulents…2
1. Plants
not succulent (Furcraea foetida is borderline succulent, and has the
general appearance of an Agave)…7
2. Leaves
white-flecked, not fibrous…Aloe (Aloe barbadensis)
2. Leaves
green, bluish, or variegated but not flecked with white; fibrous…3
3. Leaves
deeply wrinkled, multi-wrinkled and creased longitudinally, slightly
succulent…Mauritius Hemp, False Agave (Furcraea foetida)
3. Leaves
not (or only slightly) wrinkled nor channeled longitudinally, succulent…4
4. Leaf
margins without spines…Smooth Agave (Agave attenuata)
4. Leaf
margins spiny…5
5. Leaf
blades twisted (or sometimes straight, then blue-toned and with teeth > ¼”
long)…American Agave (Agave americana, an extremely variable species, the
leaves usually either twisted and white-variegated, or straighter and
blue-toned, in either case with large marginal teeth)
5. Leaves
straight…6
6. Leaves
with white margins...Caribbean Agave (Agave angustifolia)
6. Leaves
of one uniform color…Sisal (Agave sisalana)
(Also
possible, the native Agave decipiens, with the leaf blades concave on
top, as opposed to the flat blades of Sisal, see LON)
7. Plants
with swollen succulent base and strap-shaped leaves multiple feet
long…Ponytail-Palm (Nolina recurvata)
7. Plants
otherwise…8
8. Vines
with bright red and yellow showy flowers…Gloriosa Lily (Gloriosa
rothchildiana)
8. Plants
otherwise…9
9. Leaves
reduced to inconspicuous scales, false leaves < ¼” wide…10
9. Leaves
not reduced to scales, nor with false leaves, the true leaves > ½” wide…11
10. False
leaves about 1/8” wide, flat…Asparagus aethiopicus (A. densiflorus)
Plants
sprawling…Asparagus aethiopicus ‘Sprengeri’
Plants
erect, shaped like miniature Christmas trees…Asparagus aethiopicus
‘Myers’ (Foxtail-Fern)
10. False
leaves threadlike…Asparagus-Fern (Asparagus setaceus)
11. Leaves
straight, stiff, spine-tipped; flowers large (1” diam.), white, in very showy
terminal clusters…Yucca (Yucca aloifolia)
11. Plants
otherwise…12
12. Plants
with no central “trunk,” the leaves all inserted at or near the base…19
12. Plants
with a “trunk” (stem rising vertically with leaves attached)…13
13. Leaves
usually predominantly reddish…Cordyline, Ti Plant (Cordyline fruticosa)
13. Leaves
green, or variegated (then possibly with some red, but this not the dominant
color)…14
14. Leaves
curled back toward the tips, usually short (usually < 1’) long…Reflexed Dracaena
(Dracaena reflexa, common cultivar is ‘Song-of-India’ (white-striped)
14. Leaves
straight or merely arching, often (not always) > 1’ long…15
15. Leaves
narrowed basally to apparent petiole…16
15. Leaves
strap-shaped and broad at the base…17
16. Leaves
> 1’ long…Lanceleaf Dracaena (Dracaena thalioides)
16. Leaves
< 1’ long…Lucky-Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
17. Leaf
blades wavy, variegated or not…Deremensis Dracaena (Dracaena fragrans (D.
deremensis) ‘Janet Craig’ with wavy green leaves, ‘Janet Craig Compacta’,
‘Warneckii’ with white variegation, or ‘Lemon Lime’ with lemon-lime
coloration)
17. Leaf
blades not wavy…18
18. Leaves
>1” wide, usually two-toned, arching…Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans
‘Massangeana’)
18. Leaf
blades straight, <1” wide, tricolored…Tricolor Dracaena (Dracaena marginata
‘Tricolor’)
19. Plants
with numerous arching stolons, each of these producing a new
plantlet…Spider-Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
19. Plants
not with a abundant arching stolons…20
20. Crushed
leaves smelling like garlic; flowers umbellate, light violet…Society Garlic (Tulbaghia
violacea)
20. Leaves
not smelling like garlic; flowers not both violet and umbellate…21
21. Flowers
umbellate, blue to purplish…Lily-of-the-Nile (Agapanthus praecox (A.
africanus))
21. Flowers
not both blue and umbellate…22
22. Leaves
< ¾” wide; flowers purple…23
22. Leaves
> 1” wide; flowers variably colored…24
23. Leaves
usually < ¼” wide; flowers hidden among leaves; ovaries inferior…Mondo-Grass (Ophiopogon
japonicus)
23. Leaves
usually > ¼” wide; flowers held above foliage; ovaries superior…Lilyturf (Liriope
muscari, related species, and cultivars)
24. Flowers
and fruits both blue…Blueberry-Flax (Dianella tasmanica)
24. Neither
flowers nor fruits blue…25
25. Leaves
narrowed to a petiolelike base…Cast-Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)
25. Leaf
bases not narrowed, or narrowed only slightly…26
26. Leaves
usually with horizontal striping (sometimes with longitudinal striping, usually
but not always < 2” wide); flowers in vertically elongate
inflorescences…Sansevieria (Sansevieria trifasciata and many variable
cultivars)
26. Leaves
neither vertically nor horizontally striped, > 2” wide; flowers in umbels…27
27. Petals
(tepals) connected at the base by a membrane…Spider-Lilies (Hymenocallis)
27. Petals
not connected by a membrane…28
28. Petals
(tepals) overlapping...29
28. Petals
not overlapping…30
29. Flowers
pink or reddish…Crinum bulbispermum (or its hybrids)
29. Flowers
white…St. Christopher-Lily (Crinum jagus)
30. Flowers
white…31
30. Flowers
usually pinkish, wine-colored, or purplish…32
31. Leaf
margins smooth, > 2” wide…Crinum asiaticum
31. Leaf
margins slightly dentate, usually < 2” wide…String Lily (Crinum americanum)
32. Bulb >
6” diam.; tepals > ½” wide…Crinum augustum (or hybrid ‘Queen Emma’)
32. Bulb <
6” diam.; tepals < ½” wide…Crinum amabile (see discussion)
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