LILY FAMILY LILIACEAE 



The Lily family contains more than 2000 species, a 

 great many of which are cultivated for food or the beauty 

 of their flowers. The most important vegetables of this 

 family are Asparagus and Onion, the latter one of the 

 earliest of cultivated plants and well known to the ancient 

 Egyptians and Hebrews. Some major garden flowers are 

 the Tulip, Lily, Day Lily, Hyacinth, Spanish Bayonet and 

 Lily of the Valley. 



In this and a few other families it is often difficult to 

 separate calyx and corolla, as the perianth is composed 

 of 6 similar parts. 



KEY TO GENERA 



I. Flowers light blue Camassia p. 56 



Flowers not blue 2 



1. Flowers In umbels 3 



Flowers not in umbels \4 



3. Leaves all basal; odor strong Allium p. 51 



Leaves not all basal; odor not strong Smilax p. 63 



4. Leaves mostly whorled 5 



Leaves not whorled 6 



5. Leaves 3, in 1 whorl Trillium p. 60 



Leaves in more than 1 whorl Lilium p. S3 



6. Leaf bases grown around the stem Uvularia p. 50 



Leaf bases not grown around stem 7 



7. Leaves 1 or usually 2 in flowering plants 8 



Leaves more than 2 9 



8. Leaves all basal Erythroniuni p. 55 



Leaves on stem Maianthemum p. 57 



9. Leaves all basal 10 



Leaves on stem 1 1 



10. Leaves rigid and sharp pointed Yucca p. 62 



Leaves neither rigid nor sharp pointed. ... Hemerocallis p. 53 



11. Style 1 12 



Styles 3 Tofieldia p. 49 



12. Flowers in the axils of leaves Polygonatum p- 59 



Flowers in a terminal inflorescence 13 



13. Perianth of 6 separate parts Smilacina p. 57 



Perianth tubular and 6-lobed Aletris p. 62 



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