Family Asteliaceae

Asteliaceae Dum.

~ Liliaceae

Habit and leaf form. Trees (to 10 m), or ‘arborescent’, or shrubs, or herbs (dwarf to large). ‘Normal’ plants. Perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves; rhizomatous, or tuberous. Self supporting, or epiphytic (on trees). Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves medium-sized, or large; alternate; spiral, or distichous; ‘herbaceous’, or leathery; petiolate (rarely), or subsessile, or sessile; sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; linear, or lanceolate, or oblong, or ovate; parallel-veined; without cross-venules. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; paracytic. Hairs present; eglandular; multicellular. Multicellular hairs branched. Complex hairs present; stellate (or scales).

Adaxial hypodermis present (unusual, among asparagoids). Lamina dorsiventral; with secretory cavities, or without secretory cavities (Milligania). Secretory cavities when present, containing mucilage. The mesophyll containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides and solitary-prismatic. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (Cordyline). Vessels absent.

Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent, or anomalous (e.g. Cordyline); from a single cambial ring. Xylem without vessels.

Root anatomy. Root xylem with vessels; vessel end-walls scalariform.

Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite, or polygamomonoecious. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the gynoecium (via septal nectaries).

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes, or in spikes. The ultimate inflorescence unit racemose. Inflorescences terminal; racemes or spikes. Flowers regular; 3 merous (usually), or 5–7 merous (Neoastelia); cyclic; pentacyclic. Perigone tube present, or absent.

Perianth of ‘tepals’; 6 (usually), or 10–14 (Neoastelia); free, or joined; 2 whorled; isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls; green, or white, or violet, or brown.

Androecium 6. Androecial members adnate (to the perianth); all equal; free of one another; 1 whorled (?), or 2 whorled (at least sometimes). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; diplostemonous; alterniperianthial (at least sometimes). Anthers basifixed (or nearly so); dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate; unappendaged. The endothecial thickenings spiral. Microsporogenesis successive, or simultaneous (Milligania). Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains aperturate; 1 aperturate; sulcate; commonly spinulose; 2-celled (Cordyline).

Gynoecium 3(–4) carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth (usually), or increased in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 3 celled (usually), or 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 3 locular (usually), or 1 locular (rarely, when G4). Gynoecium non-stylate, or stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stylar canal present. Stigmas 1; dry type. Placentation when unilocular parietal; axile. Ovules in the single cavity when unilocular, 4–15; 4–15 per locule; anatropous, or campylotropous; crassinucellate.

Fruit fleshy (usually), or non-fleshy; indehiscent (usually), or dehiscent; a berry (usually), or a capsule (e.g. Milligania). Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Cotyledons 1. Embryo straight. Testa encrusted with phytomelan (seemingly, though not encoded as such by Stevenson and Loconte (1995) for cladistic analyses); hard, shining black.

Seedling. Hypocotyl internode present (short). Seedling collar not conspicuous. Cotyledon hyperphyll elongated to compact; assimilatory to non-assimilatory; more or less circular in t.s. Coleoptile absent. Seedling cataphylls present, or absent. Primary root ephemeral.

Physiology, biochemistry. Alkaloids absent (?). Proanthocyanidins absent. Flavonols absent. Ellagic acid absent. Saponins/sapogenins present.

Geography, cytology. Paleotropical, Australian, and Antarctic. Widespread in the Southern Hemisphere, absent from southern Africa. X = 8, 19.

Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Superorder Liliiflorae; Burmanniales. APG (1998) Monocot; non-commelinoid. APG 3 (2009) Order: Asparagales.

Species about 55. Genera 5; Astelia, Collospermum, Cordyline, Milligania, Neoastelia.

See Rudall et al. (1998). Cordyline seems to belong in an extended Lomandraceae, but it is currently impracticable to present the requisite recircumscribed family descriptions here (see comments under Lomandraceae).

Illustrations.
• Astelia: fruit and seed details.

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