Trilliaceae was a family of flowering plants first named in 1846; however, most taxonomists now consider the genera formerly assigned to it to belong to the family Liliaceae. The APG IV system, of 2016 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998), does not recognize such a family either and assigns the plants involved to family Melanthiaceae, tribe Parideae.
Nevertheless, some taxonomists still recognize a separate family Trilliaceae. The most important genus in North America is Trillium , and the taxonomy of that genus has always been controversial.
A recent treatment (Farmer and Schilling 2002) stated that the family Trilliaceae, which exhibits an arcto-tertiary distribution, comprises six genera. Three of these exhibit a wide distribution:
Three are monotypic, endemic genera:
Within Melanthiaceae, these are consolidated into three genera;
Liliales is an order of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and Angiosperm Phylogeny Web system, within the lilioid monocots. This order of necessity includes the family Liliaceae. The APG III system (2009) places this order in the monocot clade. In APG III, the family Luzuriagaceae is combined with the family Alstroemeriaceae and the family Petermanniaceae is recognized. Both the order Lililiales and the family Liliaceae have had a widely disputed history, with the circumscription varying greatly from one taxonomist to another. Previous members of this order, which at one stage included most monocots with conspicuous tepals and lacking starch in the endosperm are now distributed over three orders, Liliales, Dioscoreales and Asparagales, using predominantly molecular phylogenetics. The newly delimited Liliales is monophyletic, with ten families. Well known plants from the order include Lilium (lily), tulip, the North American wildflower Trillium, and greenbrier.
Trillium is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. Trillium species are native to temperate regions of North America and Asia, with the greatest diversity of species found in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
Smilacaceae, the greenbriers, is a family of flowering plants. While they were often assigned to a more broadly defined family Liliaceae, most recent botanists have accepted the two as distinct families, diverging around 55 million years ago during the Early Paleogene. One characteristic that distinguishes Smilacaceae from most of the other members of the Liliaceae-like Liliales is that it has true vessels in its conducting tissue. Another is that the veins of the leaves, between major veins, are reticulate (net-shaped), rather than parallel as in most monocots.
Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to the family Liliaceae, in part because both their sepals and petals closely resemble each other and are often large and showy like those of lilies, while some more recent taxonomists have placed them in a family Trilliaceae. The most authoritative modern treatment, however, the APG III system of 2009, places the family in the order Liliales, in the clade monocots. Circumscribed in this way, the family includes up to 17 genera.
Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family.
The Buxaceae are a small family of six genera and about 123 known species of flowering plants. They are shrubs and small trees, with a cosmopolitan distribution. A seventh genus, sometimes accepted in the past (Notobuxus), has been shown by genetic studies to be included within Buxus.
Trillium persistens, the persistent trillium, is a North American species of flowering plants in the genus Trillium of family Melanthiaceae. The plant is also called the persistent wakerobin.
Schisandraceae is a family of flowering plants with 3 known genera and a total of 92 known species. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, at least for the past several decades. Before that, the plants concerned were assigned to family Magnoliaceae and Illiciaceae.
Paris is a genus of flowering plants described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread across Europe and Asia, with a center of diversity in China.
Pseudotrillium is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. Its sole species, Pseudotrillium rivale, is commonly known as the brook wakerobin. It is endemic to the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. The Latin specific epithet rivale means “growing by streams”, with reference to a preferred habitat.
Campynemataceae (Campynemaceae) is a family of flowering plants. The family consists of two genera and four species of perennial herbaceous plants endemic to New Caledonia and Tasmania.
The Ecdeiocoleaceae comprise a family of flowering plants with two genera and three species. The botanical name has rarely been recognized by taxonomists.
Schoepfiaceae is a family of flowering plants recognized in the APG III system of 2009. The family was previously only recognized by few taxonomists; the plants in question usually being assigned to family Olacaceae and Santalaceae.
Opiliaceae is a family of flowering plants comprising 11 genera and 33 known species. It consists of tropical woody plants. Several genera contain parasitic species. The biggest genus, in number of species and in stature of the individual plants, is Agonandra, the only American genus.
Trillium ovatum, the Pacific trillium, also known as the western wakerobin, western white trillium, or western trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is the most widespread and abundant trillium in western North America. Its type specimen was gathered by Meriwether Lewis during the return trip of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806.
Trillium luteum, the yellow trillium or yellow wakerobin, is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a closely related group of sessile-flowered trilliums. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, especially in and around the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
Trillium cuneatum, the little sweet betsy, also known as whip-poor-will flower, large toadshade, purple toadshade, and bloody butcher, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a member of the Trillium cuneatum complex, a subgroup of the sessile-flowered trilliums. It is native to the southeastern United States but is especially common in a region that extends from southern Kentucky through central Tennessee to northern Alabama. In its native habitat, this perennial plant flowers from early March to late April. It is the largest of the eastern sessile-flowered trilliums.
Trillium tennesseense, the Tennessee trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found exclusively within two counties in northeastern Tennessee. Due to its limited range, it is designated as a critically imperiled species.
Trillium hibbersonii is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet hibbersonii honors the English Canadian surveyor John Arthur Hibberson (1881–1955) who first collected this plant in 1938 on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Hibberson and his son propagated the trilliums, selling them to buyers in England and other European countries. In 1968, Leonard Wiley coined the Latin name Trillium hibbersonii, a name that has since been used by horticulturists without reservation.
Parideae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae.