Liliales is an order of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and Angiosperm Phylogeny Web system, within the lilioid monocots. Both the order Lililiales and the family Liliaceae have had a widely disputed history, with the circumscription varying greatly from one taxonomist to another. Previous members of this order, which at one stage included most monocots with conspicuous tepals and lacking starch in the endosperm are now distributed over three orders, Liliales, Dioscoreales and Asparagales, using predominantly molecular phylogenetics. The newly delimited Liliales is monophyletic, with ten families. Thus circumscribed, this order consists mostly of herbaceous plants, but lianas and shrubs also occur. They are mostly perennial plants, with food storage organs such as corms or rhizomes. The order has worldwide distribution, and consists of 10 families, 67 genera and about 1,768 species.

The anthophytes are a grouping of plant taxa bearing flower-like reproductive structures. They were formerly thought to be a clade comprising plants bearing flower-like structures. The group contained the angiosperms - the extant flowering plants, such as roses and grasses - as well as the Gnetales and the extinct Bennettitales.[1]

23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened.[2] Nine biomes have been described in South Africa: Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, desert, Nama Karoo, grassland, savanna, Albany thickets, the Indian Ocean coastal belt, and forests.[3]

The 2018 South African National Biodiversity Institute's National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla Anthocerotophyta (hornworts (6)), Anthophyta (flowering plants (33534)), Bryophyta (mosses (685)), Cycadophyta (cycads (42)), Lycopodiophyta (Lycophytes(45)), Marchantiophyta (liverworts (376)), Pinophyta (conifers (33)), and Pteridophyta (cryptogams (408)).[4]

Five families are represented in the literature. Listed taxa include species, subspecies, varieties, and forms as recorded, some of which have subsequently been allocated to other taxa as synonyms, in which cases the accepted taxon is appended to the listing. Multiple entries under alternative names reflect taxonomic revision over time.

Alstroemeriaceae

Family: Alstroemeriaceae,[4]

Alstroemeria

Genus Alstroemeria:[4]

Colchicaceae

Family: Colchicaceae,[4]

Androcymbium

Genus Androcymbium:[4]

Baeometra

Genus Baeometra:[4]

Camptorrhiza

Genus Camptorrhiza:[4]

Colchicum

Genus Colchicum:[4]

Gloriosa

Genus Gloriosa:[4]

Hexacyrtis

Genus Hexacyrtis:[4]

Iphigenia

Genus Iphigenia:[4]

Littonia

Genus Littonia:[4]

Neodregea

Genus Neodregea:[4]

Onixotis

Genus Onixotis:[4]

Ornithoglossum

Genus Ornithoglossum:[4]

Sandersonia

Genus Sandersonia:[4]

Wurmbea

Genus Wurmbea:[4]

Liliaceae

Family: Liliaceae,[4]

Lilium

Genus Lilium:[4]

Orchiastrum

Genus Orchiastrum:[4]

Scillopsis

Genus Scillopsis:[4]

Melanthiaceae

Family: Melanthiaceae,[4]

Melanthium

Genus Melanthium:[4]

Smilacaceae

Family: Smilacaceae,[4]

Smilax

Genus Smilax:[4]

References

  1. ^ Doyle, J. A.; Donoghue, M. J. (1986). "Seed plant phylogeny and the origin of the angiosperms - an experimental cladistic approach". Botanical Review. 52 (4): 321–431. doi:10.1007/bf02861082.
  2. ^ Butler, Rhett A. (1 July 2019). "Total number of plant species by country". Mongabay. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Vegetation of South Africa". PlantZAfrica.com. SA National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "species_checklist_20180710.csv". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
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