I IO 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. XIII, No. 6, 
Liliaceae. Lily Family. 
Herbs, rush-like herbs, woody plants; terrestrial, usually with 
prominent flowers, solitary or clustered, flowers hypogynous, 
mostly actinomorphic; perianth segments all colored alike or 
differentiated into a green calyx and colored corolla; fruit a 
loculicidal or septicidal capsule or a berry. 
Sub-families. 
1. Stem erect, occasionally short, rarely with a rhizome, never with a 
bulb; anthers introrse; fruit a capsule or berry; flowers bisporangiate 
or monosporangiate. Draccenatce. 
1. Stems with rhizomes, corms or bulbs. 2. 
2. Fruit a capsule. 3. 
2. Fruit a fleshy berry, imperfect in Trillium; flowers bisporangiate. 
Convallariatce. 
3. Capsule usually loculicidal; plants mostly bulbous; flowers bisporangi¬ 
ate; anthers mostly introrse. Liliatce. 
3. Capsule mostly septicidal; plants rarely bulbous; bisporangiate, imper¬ 
fectly bisporangiate, imperfectly monecious, monecious, or diecious; 
anthers mostly extrorse. Melanthalce. 
Key to the Genera of Liliaceae. 
1. Leaves in 1 or 2 whorls of from 3-9 leaves, on the flowering stem; 
flowers single or umbellate. 2. 
1. Leaves alternate or opposite or occasionally in several whorls, often 
basal. 3. 
2. Leaves three, flowers solitary. Trillium. (17) 
2. Leaves in two whorls; flowers in umbels. Medeola. (18) 
3. Flowers in the axils of the leaves, either solitary or clustered. 4. 
3. Flowers terminal or scapose, solitary or clustered. 7. 
4. Leaves minute bracts, phyloclades needle-like. Asparagus. (26) 
4. Leaves ordinary, not reduced to bracts. 5. 
5. Flowers solitary. 6. 
5. Flower clusters umbellate, consisting of 2 or more flowers. 
Salomonia. (21) 
6. Leaves long-acuminate, rounded, clasping, membranous. 
Streptopus. (19) 
6. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, mostly sessile or perfoliate. Uvularia. (10) 
7. Perianth segments united. 8. 
7. Perianth segments separate. 11. 
8. Perianth segments 4-6 in. long; flowers bright yellow or orange. 
Hemerocallis. (4) 
8. Perianth segments less than in. long; flowers white, blue or pale 
yellow-green. 9. 
9. Leaves narrow, linear, coming from a bulb; flowers blue, rarely 
pinkish, small, in a dense raceme. Muscari. (8) 
9. Leaves lanceolate or broadly lanceolate. 10. 
10. Scape sheathed by the bases of the 2 or 3 leaves; flowers white and 
| - sweet-smelling. Convallaria. (25) 
10. Scape much exceeding the many radical leaves; flowers yellow or 
I* white. Aletris. (9) 
11. Flowers single, terminal; scape with two oblong or oblong-lanceolate 
» W leaves. Erythronium. (3) 
11. Flowers in clusters of 2 or more, or if single then the stems leafy. 12. 
12. Flowers in definite umbels or 1-3 at the end of the flowering branch. 13. 
12. Flowers in corymbs, panicles, racemes or spikes. 17. 
