lily family 483 



Series II. HYP6GYN.>E. Ord. LXXXIL— LXXXIX 

 Ovary superior 



Ord. LXXXII. Liliace^. — Lily Family 



An extensive family of plants comprising about 2,500 species, of 

 which the majority are bulbous herbaceous plants with showy 

 flowers. Some attain the dimensions of shrubs, or even trees, in 

 which case they resemble the Palms in having no true separable 

 bark or distinctly marked pith, and in the leaves being never jointed 

 to the stem. The leaves of Herb-Paris {Paris quadrifolia), a British 

 species, are net- veined, and so resemble those of Dicotyledons ; but 

 are not jointed to the stem. The perianth consists of 6 — 10 leaves, 

 generally similar and petaloid, but in 2 whorls, distinct, or united 

 into a tube ; stoutens 6 — 10, epiphyllous, with anthers generally 

 intr or se ; ovary superior, 3- rarely 4-chambered; style i; stigma 

 simple, or 3-lobed ; fruit a 3-chambered, many-seeded capsule, or 

 berry -like, 3 — 5-chambered, i — 6-seeded. The Order is most 

 abundantly represented in temperate climates, but its members 

 attain their greatest size in the tropics. The Butcher's Broom 

 (Ruscus acidedtus) is the only British species which forms a woody 

 stem. The Dragon's Blood (Dracdna Draco), which grows very 

 slowly and only branches when of considerable age, was represented 

 at Orotava, in Teneriffe, by a giant specimen 70 feet high and over 

 48 feet in circumference, which is recorded to have been an ancient 

 tree and apparently almost as large in 1406 ; but it was destroyed 

 by a hurricane in 1867. The leaves of many species in the Order 

 contain tough fibre, the New Zealand Flax {PJwrmium tenax) 

 being the most important of these. The Onion (Alliiin Cepa), the 

 Leek [A. Porrum), and the Garlic {A. sativum) are among the most 

 anciently cultivated of vegetables, and were given divine honours 

 by the ancient Egyptians ; whilst the young shoots of Asparagus 

 are among the most esteemed delicacies of our modern kitchens. 

 In medicine many members of the Order are of great value, among 

 which aloes, the bitter, condensed juice of ^/^f z^wZg^m,^, 5w^^c- 

 truia, and other species ; squills, an extract of the Mediterranean 

 Urginea Scilla ; and the corms and seeds of Colchicum autumndle, 

 used as a specific for gout, are well known. As ornamental 

 plants the beauty of this Order has for ages been proverbial, 

 many species of Vliiim, Fritilldria, Scilla, and other genera, the 

 Lily of the Va.lley {Convalldria majdlis), the Hyacinth (Hyacinthus 

 orientdlis), and the Tulip (Tulipa) being among the most prized 

 of our garden flowers, 

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