Family Anthericaceae
Description: Rhizomatous perennial herbs; roots tuberous, fleshy or fibrous, leaves forming basal rosette with an erect, largely leafless scape bearing a terminal inflorescence.
Leaves linear, spirally set or rarely distichous, sheathing at the base; stipules absent.
Inflorescence a simple or compound raceme, spike or panicle, sometimes condensed into dense heads or clusters. Flowers generally actinomorphic, 3-merous, bisexual. Tepals 6, in 2 whorls, similar or slightly different in size and shape, white, yellow, blue or purple. Stamens 3 or 6, those with 3 with or without 3 staminodes; filaments free or basally fused, glabrous or variously hairy; anthers 2-locular, introrse, latrorse or extrorse, dorsifixed to epipeltate or more rarely basifixed, dehiscing by pores or longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 3-locular; ovules 2–8 per loculus; placentation axile; style simple, erect, and apically 3-lobed or punctiform.
Fruit a loculicidal capsule or rarely a schizocarp (Tricoryne) or nut-like (Corynotheca); seeds usually 3–12, angled or rounded, brown to black.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 20 genera, c. 450–500 species, southern Africa, Madagascar, South-East Asia, Malesia, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand. Australia: 18 genera, c. 128 species, all States.
Text by S. McCune & D. W. Hardin
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the family ANTHERICACEAE | |
| 1 | Leaves chiefly basal, if some cauline then reducing in size up stem | 2 |
| 2 | Tepals spirally twisted after flowering | 3 |
| 3 | Filaments all glabrous, or scabrous, finely pubescent or papillose; flowers blue or white to pale yellow | 4 |
| 4 | Inflorescences annual; pedicels to 15 mm long; stamens of 2 lengths; capsule more or less 3-lobed; seed more or less globose; flowers blue or rarely white | Caesia |
| 4* | Inflorescence perennating; pedicels to 3.5 mm long; stamens equal in length; capsule not lobed; seed ellipsoid; flowers white to pale yellow | Corynotheca |
| 3* | Filaments with a tuft of narrow clavate hairs below anther; flowers yellow | Tricoryne |
| 2* | Tepals not spirally twisted after flowering | 5 |
| 5 | Stamens 3, with 3 staminodes | Sowerbaea |
| 5* | Stamens 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Margins of inner tepals fringed throughout | Thysanotus |
| 6* | Margins of inner tepals entire | 7 |
| 7 | Anthers linear, longer than filaments | Dichopogon |
| 7* | Anthers linear, usually shorter than filaments | 8 |
| 8 | Filaments glabrous or minutely papillose; perianth white | Chlorophytum |
| 8* | Filaments hirsute or finely pubescent; perianth pale blue, purple or white | 9 |
| 9 | Inflorescence subsessile, flowers solitary; filaments finely pubescent; plants mat-forming | Herpolirion |
| 9* | Inflorescence scapose racemes or panicles, flowers usually 1–9 per node; filaments hirsute; plants never mat-forming | Arthropodium |
| 1* | All leaves cauline | 10 |
| 10 | Inflorescence a terminal head-like umbel, flowers more or less sessile or shortly pedicellate; leaves usually tufted leaving leafless intervals on stems | Laxmannia |
| 10* | Inflorescences an axillary condensed bracteate umbel-like raceme, the flowers distinctly pedicellate; leaves crowded along stem | Alania |
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