PLANT NAMES AND THEIR MEANINGS--V 



LILIACEAE-I 



By Wii^i^AKD N. Clutk. 



T N nearly every large plant family may be found one ur mure 

 -'• les>er groups in which the species possess a certain likeness 

 (jf their own and resemble one another more closely than thev 

 do the members of the family as a whole. Conservative bo- 

 tanists usually regard these as seperate sections of a single 

 family, but others, less hampered by precedent, make distinct 

 families of each group. Since such segregation does not af- 

 fect the nomenclature of genus and species, it is perhaps, less 

 objectionable than certain other practices of the .systematist. 

 There is no hard and fast line for separating plant families, 

 and the matter may well be one of individual preference. In 

 the case of the Liliaceae or lily worts, however, if we were to 

 follow the example of the more radical we would split off 

 from it the Convallariaceae or Lily-of-the-\'alley Family, the 

 Smilaceae or Smilax Family, the Trilliaceae or Trillium 

 Family, and the ]\lelanthaceae or lUuich-flower Family. Of 

 these groups the Trilliums and Smilaxes are usually retained 

 in tlie Liliaceae but there is more reason for separating the 

 others, and in any event, they all belong to the Liliales. 



The typical forms that all botanists regard as belonging 

 to the Liliaceae, are, of course, the lilies of the genus Liliimi. 

 The generic name is the T.,atin form of the Greek Lirion mean- 

 ing a lily and is said to come from the "Celtic" li meaning 

 white. It may perhaps l)e doubted if the "Celtic" has any- 

 thing to do with the name and the suggestitni may be merely 



