Family AMARYLLIDACEAE
Description: Herbs with bulbs or rarely rhizomes.
Leaves few, basal, ± linear, longitudinal veins ± parallel; stipules absent.
Inflorescences umbellate, mostly pedunculate, flowers solitary to many, subtended by an involucre of membranous bracts. Flowers actinomorphic to slightly zygomorphic, 3-merous, bisexual. Perianth with or without tube; tepals or lobes 6 in 2 series. Stamens 6, free or inserted on tube below lobes; filaments free or fused and forming corona; anthers 2-locular, epipeltate or basifixed, dehiscing by longitudinal slits or rarely apical pores. Ovary inferior or half-inferior, usually 3-locular or rarely 1-locular; styles slender with capitate or 3-lobed stigma.
Fruit a capsule or fleshy and indehiscent; seeds numerous.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 85 genera, 1100 species, mostly tropical & subtropical with some extending into temperate regions. Australia: c. 8 genera, 17 species, all States.
Amaryllidaceae: FamilyRelationships and phylogeny
(from the Angiosperm Phylogeny Site) Many taxa are widely cultivated as ornamentals; these include species of Amaryllis, Clivia, Hippeastrum, Leucojum, Narcissus, Nerine and Zephyranthes. Bulbs and fruit of some species are reported toxic to stock and humans if eaten.
Text by G. J. Harden & N. Frischknecht
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the family AMARYLLIDACEAE | |
| 1 | Flowers solitary | 2 |
| 2 | Flowers with a corona; perianth and corona yellow or perianth white and corona yellow or orange; perianth tube more than 10 mm long | Narcissus |
| 2* | Flowers without a corona; perianth mainly white, outer segments more or less tinged pink; perianth without basal tube | Zephyranthes |
| 1* | Flowers in umbels | 3 |
| 3 | Flowers appearing before the leaves emerge; perianth pink and corona absent | Amaryllis |
| 3* | Flowers appearing after the leaves have emerged; perianth white, yellow or purple, or if pink then corona present | 4 |
| 4 | Flowers with a corona | 5 |
| 5 | Perianth and corona white; leaves 2–35 cm wide | 6 |
| 6 | Leaves with petiole more than 10 cm long; flowers with pedicels 7–45 mm long; perianth lobes less than 2 cm long | Proiphys |
| 6* | Leaves with lamina sessile; flowers sessile; perianth lobes 7–11 cm long | Hymenocallis |
| 5* | Perianth white, yellow, pink or purple; corona yellow, orange or pink; leaves 0.5–2.5 cm wide | Calostemma |
| 4* | Flowers without a corona | 7 |
| 7 | Perianth less than 2 cm long, segments free or shortly fused; anthers dehiscing by apical pores | Leucojum |
| 7* | Perianth more than 5 cm long, conspicuously tubular; anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits | Crinum |
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