1988 A TEXTBOOK OF THEORETICAL BOTANY 



stamens and a superior compound ovary are placed in the Liliaceae while 

 those possessing similar characters but with an inferior ovary are grouped 

 in the Amaryllidaceae. Hutchinson came to the conclusion that too much 

 importance had been attached to whether the ovary is superior or 

 inferior, with the result that a rather artificial classification had 

 resulted. That the position of the ovary alone need not necessarily 

 be regarded as a family character is well illustrated in the Brome- 

 liaceae, where Ananas has an inferior ovary, Tillandsia a superior 

 ovary, while the less well-known Pitcairnia has an ovary which is inter- 

 mediate between superior and inferior. If this character of the position of 

 the ovary is treated as of less importance and other characters are made use 

 of in classification, Hutchinson concludes that a more natural arrange- 

 ment can be achieved. Moreover by splitting up the Liliaceae into several 

 families each containing one of the main groups of the old family a more 

 even distribution of the genera has been achieved. Fundamentally Hutchin- 

 son therefore bases his classification on the type of the inflorescence. This 

 rearrangement of the families has necessitated the erection of a number of 

 new orders each of which roughly corresponds to an old family of the 

 Lilliiflorae. Though to some this new arrangement may appear complicated 

 and unnecessarily elaborate it has received very wide appreciation and it is 

 proposed to follow it here, although a number of Hutchinson's new 

 families must of necessity be omitted. Several are represented only by a 

 single genus, some by a single species not well known or not represented in 

 the British Flora. At the same time it must be pointed out that previous 

 textbooks, and more particularly the various British Floras, almost univer- 

 sally follow Bentham and Hooker's method of classification. 



The following summary may help to make the relationships clearer: 



I. Liliales i. Liliaceae 



2. Trilliaceae 



3. Pontederiaceae 



4. Smilacaceae 



5. Ruscaceae 



II. Alstroemeriales i. Alstroemeriaceae 



2. Philesiaceae 



The relationships of these orders to one another will be more clearly 

 appreciated from the phylogenetic tree constructed by Hutchinson to 

 illustrate his view on the subject. 



