Abstract:
Asphodelaceae c omprises a round 12 genera a nd about 1060
species (Africa, Mediterranean basin, Arabian Peninsula, west and
central Europe, Madagascar, Central Asia, Australia, New Zealand),
Hemerocallidaceae some 19 genera with about 117 species (tropical
and temperate Eurasia, Australia, New Zealand, several Pacific
islands, Madagascar, western South America, southern Africa),
while Xanthorrhoeaceae s.str. has one genus with some 28 species
(restricted to Australia, including Tasmania). The Angiosperm Phylogeny
Group (APG II in Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 141: 399–436. 2003 &
APG III in 161: 105–121. 2009) combine these three families into
Xanthorrhoeaceae s.l., although APG II provided the option to also
use Asphodelaceae and Hemerocallidaceae, under the system of socalled
“bracketed families”. APG III, however, did away with this
option, thus leaving Xanthorrhoeaceae as the only choice.
