Amaryllidaceae

Family of Asparagales

Food, Plant source foods, Flowering plats (angiospermae), Mesangiosperms, Monocots, Asparagales

Consumption area(s): Earth

Note: For better understanding, please read the article on flowering plants (angiospermae) first. If you come across unfamiliar words, you can click on any highlighted term to open the glossary with definitions of key botanical terms.

Inroduction

Amaryllidaceae is a family of mostly herbaceous, perennial flowering plants within the monocot order Asparagales. The family name comes from the genus Amaryllis and it is commonly referred to as the amaryllis family. In the onion genus (Allium), allyl sulfide compounds give the characteristic onion-like odor. This family includes about 1,600 species across 71 genera.

Description of Amaryllidaceae

Amaryllidaceae are primarily flowering plants and mostly herbaceous or succulent geophytes, with a few epiphytic species. They are generally perennial, except for four short-lived species. Most genera grow from bulbs, though some develop from rhizomes.

The leaves are simple and arranged in two ranks with parallel venation. Shapes vary from linear, strap-like, oblong, elliptic, lanceolate, to filiform. Leaves may cluster at the base or be alternately arranged on the stem, and can be either sessile or petiolate, containing a meristem for growth.

Flowers are usually hermaphroditic and radially symmetrical, rarely zygomorphic. They can be pedicellate or sessile, often grouped in umbels at the tip of scapes, sometimes associated with a bract. The perianth consists of six tepals arranged in two whorls of three, which may be free or fused at the base to form a floral tube (hypanthium).

The ovary position differs among subfamilies: Allium has superior ovaries, while Amaryllidoideae feature inferior ovaries. The stamens are typically arranged in two whorls of three, though some may have more (up to 9–18).

Fruits vary from dry capsules to fleshy, berry-like forms, depending on the species.

Classification of Amaryllidaceae

This family is further divided into genera (skipping higher classifications due to the limited number of edible species). Edible genera include:

• Allium (chives, garlic, leek, onion, shallot)
• Crinum (swamp onion)
• Hippeastrum (amaryllis)
• Leucojum (snowflake)
• Narcissus (daffodil)
• Scadoxus (blood lily)
• Tulbaghia (african wild garlic)