| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Name acc. to: | APGII |
| Herbar: | list records   |
| Synonym: | Liliaceae (p.p.) (acc. to Grubov 1988/2001) |
| Description: | Perennial herbs that lack true leaves but with leaf-like phylloclades that may be spiny and white scales at base. Petaloid tepals, style with 3 short stigmatic branches or capitate. Fruit a berry with 2-12 black seed per locule. |
| open map in a new window |  |
| genus: 1 |
| species: 9 |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Growth form: (i)Herb, shrub, tree or climber. | herb (i)Herbaceous, erect plant, up to 2m high, mostly with a leafy shoot; if perennial, shoots die to the ground each season, shoots are not woody
example: Artemisia pectinata 
|
| Parasite status: (i)Is the plant a half- or full parasite? | no parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant fully autonomous, leaves with chlorophyll
example: Most plants, Ranunculus
|
| Water or terrestrial plant: (i)Where do the plants grow? | terrestrial (i)Plant grows on dry land
example: Orostachys spinosa
|
| Leaf (i)expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant (including phylloclades) | |
| Leaf arrangement: (i)Arrangement of leaves at the stem. | whorled or fascicled (i)Three or more leaves per node or leaves crowded.
example: Galium, Nitraria 
alternate (i)One leaf per node; distiche: arranged in two vertical rows, equitant
example: Phragmites  
|
| Simple or divided leaves: (i)Are the leaves simple or completely divided in several parts? Blade of the leaf entire or (more or less) deeply dissected. Attention: There are various appearances of the leaf margin (from entire to toothed and lobed). Here, we ignore this and ask only for dissections that separate the leaf for more than one third of its length or width, whatever is smaller. Sometimes, it is difficult to tell apart compound leaves from a shoot system with simple leaves: look for stipulae and/or axillary buds at the ground of the leaves: if only some possess these structures, the others are most likely leaflets of a compound leaf. | simple (i)Non-divided leaf, but margin may be incised nearly to the ground 
|
| Shape of blade: (i)Easy for simple leaves. In compound leaves use the general shape of leaflet. Always check the ground for largest leaves of a plant. To be worked out: how to handle pinnate leaves? | filiform (i)Leaves thread-like, at least more than ten times longer than broad
example: Potamogeton pectinatus, P. filiformis 
|
| Length of leaves: (i)How long is the leaf, be carefull in compound leaves, measure the complete leaf. | from 6 mm to 10 mm
from 11 mm to 20 mm
|
| Leaf margin: (i)Structure of leaf margin (or that of a leaflet in case of compound leaves). Attention: Here we ask for the leaf margin, defined as all those dissections that separate the leaf for less than one third of its length or width, whatever is smaller. To be worked out: how to handle margin of pinnate leaves? | entire (i)Plain margin, not toothed
example: Iris 
|
| Petiole: (i)Leaf divided into stalk (petiole) and blade. | without (i)Leaves without petiole (stalk), sessile
example: Poaceae, Iris 
|
| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | parallel (i)Most veins arranged parallel to the length of leaf, mostly no pronounced main vein (usually in elongate to linear leaves)
example: Most Monocotyledonae, Plantago, Veratrum, a lot of Caryophyllaceae looks like that.   inherited by order Asparagales: parallel
|
| Flower (i)reproductive portion of the plant, consisting of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils | |
| Perianth arrangement: (i)Attention: in some plants, flowers may be dimorphic in different ways (dioecious or gynodioecious). If flowers vary, record the characters of the most showy flowers. | simple, similar (i)Only one type of perianth leaves (tepals)
example: Tulipa 
|
| Flower symmetry: (i)Symmetry of the perianth leaves. Attention: to assess this character, look on sepals, petals and stamens, but neglect carpels and ovary. | radiary, regular (actinomorphic) (i)More than two axis of symmetry
example: Saxifraga: 5; Iris: 3 
|
| Petal / Tepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the petal leaves connected? Petals sympetalous. | free (i)all petal leaves separate from each other
example: Anthriscus
|
| Spur: (i)A hollow, slender, sac-like appendage of the perianth leaves, storing nectar. | no spur (i)Flower without appendage
example: Peganum
|
| Stamen number: (i)Attention: We ask for the reproductive organs of the flower dispersing pollen. Count only fully fertile stamens, not staminodia (e.g. Parnassia). | 6 (i)
example: Veratrum, Smelowskia, Juncus
|
| Stamen fusion: (i)To which degree are the stamens fused? Attention: Whereas the pollen sacs itself are often free., their stalks (filaments) may be fused. Here, we count them as fused if they are together over at least one thirth of their length. | free (i)Stamens with separate bases
example: Malus
|
| Ovary position: (i)For entirely or partly fused carpels, describe their position in relation to the insertion point of perianth leaves (best done by doing a longitudinal section of a flower). | superior (hypogynous) (i)Base of carpels attached above insertion point of perianth leaves, carpels free or fused
example: Delphinium, Anemone  
|
| Fruit (i)the seed bearing organ, with or without adnate parts; a ripened ovary and any other structures which are attached and ripen with it. Aggregate fruits are handled like simple fruits for determination. | |
| Consistency: (i)Fleshy fruits or dry fruits, see dispersal adaptations for further classification. | fleshy (i)Usually non dehiscent; with a fleshy (swollen because of a high water content) outer shell, flesh edible at least for animals
example: Prunus, Amygdalus, Malus
|
| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Indehiscent fruits
Solitary fruits (i)   
berry (i)Fleshy fruit with several to many seeds in the flesh
example: Tomato 
|
| Opening of fruit: (i)Mode of dehiscence at maturity to release seeds. | not opening / indehiscent (i)Fruits remain closed at maturity and disperse with seeds inside
example: Corylus (nut), Vaccinium (berry)
|
| Size of fruit: (i)Size of the fruit including appendage. | from 5 mm to 10 mm (i)
example: Silene: small capsule opening with teeth
|
| Seed number: (i)Estimate the number of seeds per fruit, if recognizable seeds are in the fruit (in rare cases a fruit may contain one seeded nuts: rose hip, carex). | 7-50 (i)Numerable, but may be counted
example: Vaccinum: multi-seeded berry, Ptilotrichum: few-seeded siliqua
|
| Root / shoot below ground (i)plant part below ground (in most cases), including below ground shoots, without leaves | |
| Root type: (i)Organisation of the roots. | homorhizous (i)Many equal roots
example: Monocotyledonae inherited by order Asparagales: homorhizous
|
| Storage in below-ground structures: (i)Rhizomes or bulbs. | storage rhizomes (i)Horizontal, root like structures with scale leaves or their scars, these clearly thicker than the bases of above-ground shoots
example: Petasites, Iris
|