Amaryllidaceae J.St.-Hil.

By: S. Bhattarai

Taxon Description 

Perennial bulbous herbs, often aromatic. Bulb enclosed in a tunic with parallel or reticulate venation, roots numerous. Leaves alternate, all basal or rarely cauline, linear, elliptic-oblong to lanceolate-oblanceolate or ensiform. Scape terete, hollow, sometimes 3-angled and narrowly 3-winged or slightly compressed and solid. Inflorescence scapose. Flowers solitary or in an umbel or spike, bisexual, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, pedicellate or sessile. Tepals 6, equal or subequal, free or united into a tube. Stamens 6, inserted on the tube or at base of tepals, filaments subequal or unequal, rarely with a cupular corona, anthers dorsifixed. Ovary inferior or superior, 3-chambered, ovules axile, style simple, arising from apex of ovary, stigma simple or 3-lobed. Fruit a capsule, loculicidal or splitting irregularly. Seeds green or black, rhomboidal, or spheroidal, angular or flattened to oblong, ovate-elliptic, obovoid or rounded.

Taxon Statistics

Worldwide 77 genera and 2,140 species. Four genera and 17 species in Nepal.

Exotic genera, which are not known in the wild or naturalized, such as Agapanthus, Hippeastrum, Lycoris and Narcissus are neither described nor included in the key.

Key to Genera

1a Plants aromatic. Flowers small. Tepals free at base. Stamens inserted at bases of tepals. Ovary superior ……………………………………………………………………………. 1. Allium

 b        Plants non-aromatic. Flowers large. Tepals united below into a long or short tube. Stamens inserted at throat of perianth tube. Ovary inferior ……………………….. 2

2a        Bulbs up to 3 cm in diameter. Scape hollow, terete. Flowers solitary. Tepals united at base into a short narrow tube. Spathe 1-valved. Style slender, usually longer or sometimes shorter than the stamens, stigma distinctly 3-lobed …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4. Zephyranthes

 b        Bulbs more than 3 cm in diameter. Scape solid, angled. Flowers in 2–12-flowered umbels. Tepals united below into a long tube. Spathe 2- or 3-valved. Style filiform, longer than the stamens, stigma entire, minute ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

3 a        Neck of bulb developed. Flowers pedicellate. Corona present. Seeds black, angular  ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 2. Pancratium

b        Neck of bulb not developed. Flowers subsessile. Corona absent. Seeds greenish, rounded ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 3. Crinum