ASPARAGALES

The Asparagales include 14 families, sensu of APG IV (2016), although 24 families are recognized here.
This order encompasses a large and diverse number of taxa (Table 7.2). Based on recent phylogenetic
studies, it is likely that an apomorphy previously thought to unite the Asparagales, the presence of seeds
having a seed coat containing a black substance called phytomelan (Figure 7.29), may actually be
apomorphic for the all except the Orchidaceae, which is sister to all other members of the order (Figure
7.30). The phytomelaniferous seeds of the Asparagales were lost in some lineages, particularly those
that have evolved fleshy fruits.

The phylogenetic relationships of families in the Asparagales are seen in Figure 7.30. Apomorphies for
the order may include simultaneous microsporogenesis (see Chapter 11) and an inferior ovary; if so,
several reversals in these features occurred in various lineages (Figure 7.30). Family delimitations of the
Asparagales have undergone a number of changes in recent years. The treatment listed here recognizes
several families that are united in APG IV (2016), notably Alliaceae and Agapanthaceae [=
Amaryllidaceae s.l. in APG IV], Agavaceae, Aphyllanthaceae, Hyacinthaceae, Laxmanniaceae, Ruscaceae,
and Themidaceae [= Asparagaceae s.l. in APG IV], and Hemerocallidaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae [=
Asphodelaceae s.l. in APG IV]. See Table 7.2, Figure 7.30. Seven families of the Asparagales are described
here. Notable among the others are the Agapanthaceae, with Agapanthus spp. being common cultivars
(Figure 7.31A,B); Asparagaceae, including the vegetable, Asparagus officinalis, and several ornamental
species, such as A. setaceus, “asparagus fern”; Blandfordiaceae (Figure 7.31C); Doryanthaceae (Figure
7.31J,K); Hemerocallidaceae (Figure 7.31E–G), including Hemerocallis fulva, day-lily; Hyacinthaceae,
including several ornamental cultivars; Hypoxidaceae (Figure 7.31H); Laxmanniaceae (Figure 7.31D,I);
and Xanthorrhoeaceae, the “grass trees” Figure 7.31L,M). See Fay et al. (2000), Rudall (2003), Chase et
al. (2006), Graham et al. (2006), and Pires et al. (2006) for recent phylogenetic and morphological
studies of the Asparagales.