Narthecium

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Narthecium
Narthecium ossifragum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Magnoliophyta
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Nartheciaceae
Genus: Narthecium
species

Narthecium americanum
Narthecium asiaticum
Narthecium ossifragum

Narthecium is the botanical name of a genus of flowering plants. This genus has often been treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae, but the APG II system, of 2003, places it in the family Nartheciaceae.

The global distribution of the genus is widely disjunct - 1 species in Asia, 1-5 species in Europe (see Narthecium ossifragum and 2 species in North America. The North American species are

  • Narthecium californicum: west coast
  • Narthecium americanum: east coast, currently restricted to the Pinelands of southern New Jersey and possibly a few sites in the Carolinas. Narthecium americanum is presently a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.