Hesperocallis

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Hesperocallis
Hesperocallis undulata.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Hesperocallis
Species:
H. undulata
Binomial name
Hesperocallis undulata
A.Gray, 1868
BLM Desert Lily Preserve near Desert Center, California Desert Lily Preserve Calif.jpg
BLM Desert Lily Preserve near Desert Center, California

Hesperocallis is a genus of flowering plants that includes a single species, Hesperocallis undulata, known as the desert lily or ajo lily.

Contents

It is found in the desert areas of southwestern North America, in Northwestern Mexico, California, and Arizona. The plant grows in Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert habitats.

Taxonomy

In the APG III system, adopted here, Hesperocallis is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, since recent molecular systematic studies (Pires et al. 2004) have confirmed a close relationship with Agave . [1] Other classifications have included the species in its own family, Hemerocallidaceae, or placed it in the Hostaceae (Funkiaceae); both families are submerged into the Agavoideae in the APG III system. [2] As with many of the 'lilioid monocots', prior to the use of molecular evidence in classification, it was placed in the Liliaceae.

Uses

The bulbs of the desert lily are eaten by native peoples. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asparagales</span> Order of monocot flowering plants

Asparagales is an order of plants in modern classification systems such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. The order takes its name from the type family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots amongst the lilioid monocots. The order has only recently been recognized in classification systems. It was first put forward by Huber in 1977 and later taken up in the Dahlgren system of 1985 and then the APG in 1998, 2003 and 2009. Before this, many of its families were assigned to the old order Liliales, a very large order containing almost all monocots with colorful tepals and lacking starch in their endosperm. DNA sequence analysis indicated that many of the taxa previously included in Liliales should actually be redistributed over three orders, Liliales, Asparagales, and Dioscoreales. The boundaries of the Asparagales and of its families have undergone a series of changes in recent years; future research may lead to further changes and ultimately greater stability. In the APG circumscription, Asparagales is the largest order of monocots with 14 families, 1,122 genera, and about 36,000 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agavoideae</span> Subfamily of plants

Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agaves and yuccas. About 640 species are placed in around 23 genera; they are widespread in the tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions of the world.

<i>Liriope</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Liriope is a genus of low, grass-like flowering plants from East and Southeast Asia.

<i>Brodiaea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Brodiaea, also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brodiaeoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Brodiaeoideae are a monocot subfamily of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. They have been treated as a separate family, Themidaceae. They are native to Central America and western North America, from British Columbia to Guatemala. The name of the subfamily is based on the type genus Brodiaea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemerocallidoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Hemerocallidoideae is the a subfamily of flowering plants, part of the family Asphodelaceae sensu lato in the monocot order Asparagales according to the APG system of 2016. Earlier classification systems treated the group as a separate family, the Hemerocallidaceae. The name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, Hemerocallis. The largest genera in the group are Dianella, Hemerocallis (15), and Caesia (11).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scilloideae</span> Subfamily of bulbous monocot plants

Scilloideae is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family Asparagaceae. Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae, named after the genus Hyacinthus. Scilloideae or Hyacinthaceae include many familiar garden plants such as Hyacinthus (hyacinths), Hyacinthoides (bluebells), Muscari and Scilla and Puschkinia. Some are important as cut flowers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nolinoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Nolinoideae is a monocot subfamily of the family Asparagaceae in the APG III system of 2009. It used to be treated as a separate family, Ruscaceae s.l. The family name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, Nolina.

<i>Chlorogalum</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the agave, yucca, and Joshua tree subfamily

The common names soap plant, soaproot and amole refer to the genus Chlorogalum. They are native to western North America, with some species in Oregon but they are mostly found in California. Common names of the genus and several species derive from their use as soap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphodelaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales

Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 40 genera and 900 known species. The type genus is Asphodelus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asparagaceae</span> Family of plants

Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, Asparagus officinalis. This family includes both common garden plants as well as common houseplants. The garden plants include asparagus, yucca, bluebell, and hosta, and the houseplants include snake plant, corn cane, spider plant, and plumosus fern.

<i>Doryanthes</i> Genus of flowering plants

Doryanthes is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Doryanthaceae. The genus consists of two species, D. excelsa and D. palmeri, both endemic natives of the coast of Eastern Australia. Doryanthaceae is part of the order Asparagales.

<i>Agave</i> Genus of flowering plants closely related to yucca

Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes.

<i>Dracaena aletriformis</i> Species of flowering plant

Dracaena aletriformis is commonly known as the large-leaved dragon tree. These plants are found in forest in the eastern areas of South Africa from Port Elizabeth to northern and eastern Limpopo. They are also found in Eswatini, but are most common in the coastal and dune forests of KwaZulu-Natal.

<i>Schoenolirion</i> Genus of flowering plants

Schoenolirion, rush-lily or sunnybell, is a genus of three recognized species of flowering plants, all endemic to the southeastern United States. In the APG III classification system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae.

Herreriopsis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. In the APG III classification system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. The sole species is Herreriopsis elegans.

<i>Triteleiopsis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Triteleiopsis, common name Bajalily or blue sand lily, is a genus of one known species of flowering plant found in Sonora, Baja California and southwestern Arizona. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxonomy of Liliaceae</span> Classification of the lily family Liliaceae

The taxonomy of the plant family Liliaceae has had a complex history since its first description in the mid-eighteenth century. Originally, the Liliaceae were defined as having a "calix" (perianth) of six equal-coloured parts, six stamens, a single style, and a superior, three-chambered (trilocular) ovary turning into a capsule fruit at maturity. The taxonomic circumscription of the family Liliaceae progressively expanded until it became the largest plant family and also extremely diverse, being somewhat arbitrarily defined as all species of plants with six tepals and a superior ovary. It eventually came to encompass about 300 genera and 4,500 species, and was thus a "catch-all" and hence paraphyletic. Only since the more modern taxonomic systems developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) and based on phylogenetic principles, has it been possible to identify the many separate taxonomic groupings within the original family and redistribute them, leaving a relatively small core as the modern family Liliaceae, with fifteen genera and 600 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Families of Asparagales</span>

The Asparagales are an order of plants, and on this page the structure of the order is used according to the APG III system. The order takes its name from the family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots. The order is clearly circumscribed on the basis of DNA sequence analysis, but is difficult to define morphologically, since its members are structurally diverse. The APG III system is used in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. With this circumscription, the order consists of 14 families with approximately 1120 genera and 26000 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allioideae</span> Large subfamily of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Allioideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. It was formerly treated as a separate family, Alliaceae. The subfamily name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, Allium. It is composed of about 18 genera.

References

  1. Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Agavoideae
  2. Chase, M.W.; Reveal, J.L. & Fay, M.F. (2009), "A subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 132–136, doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00999.x
  3. "American Indian Ethnobotany Database: Hesperocallis undulata". Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2011-04-03.