Asparagales

Asparagales
Fossil range: 100 Ma
↓
middle Cretaceous - Recent
Asparagus officinalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Bromhead
Families

See text

Asparagales is an order of flowering plants. The order must include the family Asparagaceae, but other families included in the order have varied markedly between different classifications. No one is sure, but it is supposed that this group of plants evolved between late and early Cretaceous. But because of the difficult classification of the families it's not entirely certain when they evolved.

Contents

APG II system

The APG II system of 2003, places the order in the clade monocots and uses the following circumscription:

Note: "+ ..." = optional segregrate family, that may be split off from the preceding family.

APG II has consolidated some of the families in the earlier APG system, while recognizing an alternative, that allows smaller families to be seggregated and still follow the 'APG system'. Under the new classification system a taxonomist could, for example, correctly choose to include the daylilies (Hemerocallis) in family Hemerocallidaceae, or in family Xanthorrhoeaceae.

APG system (1998)

The APG system of 1998 also placed the order in the clade monocots but used this circumscription:

Kubitzki system

The volume (1998) in the Kubitzki series of reference books on vascular plants used this circumscription:

Dahlgren system

The Dahlgren system placed the order in superorder Lilianae in subclass Liliidae [= monocotyledons] of class Magnoliopsida [= angiosperms] and used this circumscription:

Other systems

The Cronquist system did not recognise the order, and placed many of the plants involved in order Liliales (in subclass Liliidae in class Liliopsida [= monocotyledons]). Some genera were even included in family Liliaceae.

The Wettstein system, last revision of 1935, did not recognise such an order, and placed many of the plants involved in order Liliiflorae in class Monocotyledones.

References

External links