Order Asparagales
The Asparagales is a widely distributed order of monocotyledenous flowering plants, including around 29 families and 26,000 species. Obviously the order must include the Asparagaceae but there is considerable diverity of form among the other members. Most members produce a tight cluster of leaves from the base of the plant. Some members produce a stout trunk with age, which bears the custer of leaves and in a few cases leaves are produced along a stem. Flowers are often produced at the end of a long stem and seeds of many species are covered with a black or bluish layer of phytomelanin, although this is missing in the case of seeds from e.g. Orchidaceae.
Despite the diverity of this Order, DNA analysis has confrmed the relationships of plants within the Asparagales, which used to be included in and has recently been separated from the Liliales.
The Asparagales includes many plants of horticultural merit ( e.g. Agavaceae Aloaceae Amaryllidaceae, Convallariaceae, Hemerocallidaceae, Hosta, Iridaceae, Orchidaceae, Yucca ) and important agricultural crops in the Alliaceae (Onion Family).
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Plant Families with Succulent Species