Proposal to conserve the family name Asphodelaceae (Spermatophyta : Magnoliidae : Asparagales)

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.