THE LILY FAMILY 
[ORDER LXXXIII. LILIACE.®] 
PERIANTH usually of 6, rarely or 4 or 8, 
lobes, in 2 rows, almost free from one 
another or united at the base into a tube, 
inserted below the seedcase (inferior). 
STAMENS usually 6, as many as the 
perianth-lobes and opposite them or very 
rarely 3 as in Ruscus, inserted on the tube 
of the perianth or on the receptacle by the 
perianth (hypogynous). 
PISTIL of 3 CARPELS, united into a 
3- or rarely 1 -celled seedcase and 1-3 
styles and stigmas. 
FRUIT a capsule, 3-celled, many-seeded, 
opening by 3 valves either down the 
middle of the cells (loculicidally) or 
down the cell-walls (septicidally) ; or a 
berry, 3-celled, and few- or many-seeded, 
decaying to free the seeds (inde- 
hiscent). 
FLOWERS often showy, usually perfect, 
arranged in numerous different ways. 
LEAVES undivided (simple), usually entire 
and parallel-veined, sometimes net-veined 
as in Herb Paris, and sometimes reduced 
to mere scales as in the Butcher’s Broom 
(Ruscus) when the branches are flattened 
out and look like leaves (cladodia). 
ROOTS usually bulbous or thick and creep- 
ing, rarely fibrous. 
DISTINGUISHED from the Daffodil Family 
(Amaryllidaceae) by the seedcase being free 
from the perianth, and from the Iris 
Family (Iridaceoe) by the presence of 6 
stamens. 
T HE Lily Family is a large and beautiful order and has many representatives in the British 
Isles. Its 6 stamens and its perianth-tube being free from the seedcase distinguish it from 
the Iris and Amaryllis families. 
Its members are found widely spread over the world, but they are perhaps best developed in 
the dry warm parts of the temperate zone. Most of them are succulent herbs with bulbs 
or rhizomes and sword-shaped leaves, but there are some shrubs and small trees. They almost 
all bear specially beautiful flowers, some very large, brilliantly coloured, and sweet scented. Many 
lovely species are to be found in the fields and meadows of the countries bordering on the 
Mediterranean, including Asphodels, supposed to carpet the fields of Elysium ; while in South Africa 
members of the Lily Family, together with those of the Orchid, Iris, and Amaryllis families, make, 
in the spring, one of the most gorgeous scenes imaginable. They cover the ground with blossoms 
of every hue, but directly the hot season arrives they disappear from the face of the land. 
The Australian Grass-trees (Xanthorrhaea hastilis), the Dragon-tree (Dracaena Draco) of the 
Canary Isles, together with the Aloes and Yuccas are the principal trees and shrubs in the order. 
Many lovely flowers are cultivated in greenhouses and gardens. Some of the best known are 
various species of the Lily, Tulip, Hyacinth, Star of Bethlehem, Lily of the Valley, Tuberose, 
Trillium, Aloe, Yucca, Dog-tooth Violet (Erythronium), Red-hot Poker (Knipholia), the Day Lily 
(Hemerocallis), Smilax, and Aspidestra. 
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