Asphodelaceae
Asphodelaceae Juss., Gen. Pl. 51. 1789. 'Asphodel or Aloe Family'
Salient Features
Members are rhizomatous herbs, shrubs or pachycaulous trees.
Leaves narrow to linear, often succulent, and spirally arranged.
Inflorescence spike to panicle.
Flowers trimerous, bisexual, perianth not spotted, stamens 6, free.
Gynoecium tricarpellary, syncarpous, ovary superior.
Fruits capsule, nut or berry, seeds sometimes arillate, black.
Diversity:
World- 34 genera, 1236 species (The Plant List 2013); 105 genera, 2500 species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016); 39 genera, 1050 species (Mabberley 2017); 42 genera, 1234 species (CoL 2021)
India - 5 genera, 8 species (BSI, 2021)
Indian Himalaya- 4 genera, 7 species
Uttarakhand - 3 genera, 4 species (Uniyal et al. 2007)
General Characters:
Asphodelaceae in Watson & Dallwitz (1992 onwards)
Asphodelaceae in POWO 2021 (Plants of the World Online)
Asphodelaceae in Wikipedia
Systematic Position of Family in Different Systems of Classifications:
Systematic position in 2-Superkingdom, 7-Kingdom classification of Ruggiero et al. (2015)
Super Kingdom- Eukaryota, Kingdom- Plantae, Subkingdom- Viridiplantae, Infrakingdom- Streptophyta, Superphylum- Embryophyta, Phylum- Tracheophyta, Subphylum- Spermatophytina, Superclass- Angiospermae, Class- Magnoliopsida, Superorder- Lilianae, Order- Liliales
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83)
Class : Monocotyledons
Series : Coronarieae
(Included in Liliaceae)
Engler & Prantl (1887-1915)
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Embryophyta Siphonogama
Subdivision : Angiospermae
Class : Monocotyledoneae
Order : Liliflorae
Suborder : Liliineae
(Included in Liliaceae)
Hutchinson (1973)
Phylum : Angiospermae
Subphylum : Monocotyledones
Division : Corolliferae
Order : Agavales
Cronquist (1988)
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Subclass : Liliidae
Order : Liliales
Thorne & Reveal (2007)
Class : Magnoliopsida
Subclass : Liliidae
Super Order: Lilianae
Order : Iridales
Suborder : Asphodelineae
(Excluding Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Takhtajan (2009)
Phylum : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Subclass : Liliidae
Super Order : Lilianae
Order : Amaryllidales
Reveal (2012)
Class : Equisetopsida
Subclass : Magnoliidae
Super Order : Liliianae
Order : Iridales
Suborder : Asphodelineae
(As Hemarocallidaceae)
APG-IV (2016)
Clade : Angiosperms
Clade : Monocots
Order : Asparagales
Shipunov (2020)
Class : Angiospermae
Subclass : Liliidae
Order : Liliales
Suborder : Orchidineae
Genera & Species in Pantnagar
To see larger images please click on the names
***Cultivated Flora***
Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f.
Vernacular name: Aloe (English); Gheekumari (Hindi)
Nativity: Oman in Saudi Arabian penninsula (POWO, 2019)
Common Characteristics: Herb, greyish green. Leaves thick, fleshy, about 50 cm long, forming basal rosette, leaf margin spiny. Inflorescence a terminal raceme.
Flowering period: September to November
Propagation Methods: Propagated by stem cutting (Dave’s Garden)
Photographed @ MRDC