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Agavaceae

 
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Agavaceae
 
 
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Agavaceae is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s that includes many well-known desert
Désert

?D?sert? is ?milie Simon's debut single, released in October 2002. The song was a huge success both critically and commercially in her homeland....
 and dry zone types such as the agave
Agave

Agave is a succulent plant plant of a large botanical genus of the same name, belonging to the family Agavaceae....
, yucca
Yucca

The yuccas comprise the genus Yucca of 40-50 species of perennial plants, shrubs, and trees in the agave family Agavaceae, notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped Leaf and large terminal clusters of white or whitish flowers....
, and Joshua tree. The family includes about 550-600 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in around 18 genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world.

The circumscription of this family has varied widely. Some genera (e.g. Cordyline
Cordyline

Cordyline is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants classified in Asparagaceae or alternatively the segregate family Laxmanniaceae, in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, but placed by other authors in Agavaceae or Lomandraceae....
 and Dracaena
Dracaena (plant)

Dracaena is a genus of about 40 species of trees and succulent plant shrubs classified in the family Ruscaceae in the APG II system, or, according to some treatments, separated into a family of their own, Dracaenaceae or in the Agavaceae....
) are sometimes separated off into a separate family, Dracaenaceae, though recent research has tended to incorporate these into a larger family Ruscaceae
Ruscaceae

Ruscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales that includes several genera previously included in the Liliaceae, for example in the Cronquist system....
.






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Encyclopedia


Agavaceae is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s that includes many well-known desert
Désert

?D?sert? is ?milie Simon's debut single, released in October 2002. The song was a huge success both critically and commercially in her homeland....
 and dry zone types such as the agave
Agave

Agave is a succulent plant plant of a large botanical genus of the same name, belonging to the family Agavaceae....
, yucca
Yucca

The yuccas comprise the genus Yucca of 40-50 species of perennial plants, shrubs, and trees in the agave family Agavaceae, notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped Leaf and large terminal clusters of white or whitish flowers....
, and Joshua tree. The family includes about 550-600 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in around 18 genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world.

The circumscription of this family has varied widely. Some genera (e.g. Cordyline
Cordyline

Cordyline is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants classified in Asparagaceae or alternatively the segregate family Laxmanniaceae, in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, but placed by other authors in Agavaceae or Lomandraceae....
 and Dracaena
Dracaena (plant)

Dracaena is a genus of about 40 species of trees and succulent plant shrubs classified in the family Ruscaceae in the APG II system, or, according to some treatments, separated into a family of their own, Dracaenaceae or in the Agavaceae....
) are sometimes separated off into a separate family, Dracaenaceae, though recent research has tended to incorporate these into a larger family Ruscaceae
Ruscaceae

Ruscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales that includes several genera previously included in the Liliaceae, for example in the Cronquist system....
. Nolina, Beaucarnea, and Dasylirion are sometimes recognized as Nolinaceae or placed in Ruscaceae. Conversely, data from molecular systematics now suggest that Agavaceae should be broadened to include a number of genera previously classified elsewhere, among them Chlorogalum, Camassia
Camassia

Camassia is a genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and east to Utah, Wyoming and Montana....
 and the family Anthericaceae with anything up to 22 additional genera. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to two international groups of systematic botany who came together to try to establish a consensus view of the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge in angiosperm relationships based upon molecular systematics studies....
's APG II classification places Agavaceae, along with a number of other families (including Ruscaceae) in an expanded family Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae

Asparagaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by quite a few taxonomists, but hardly universally: often the plants involved are treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae....
. However, APG II allows the alternative of keeping some of these families, including Agavaceae, separate, though in this case it recommends expanding the family to include the genera currently classified in Anemarrhenaceae, Anthericaceae (with Anthericum and Paradisea), Behniaceae and Herreriaceae. Most references have retained Agavaceae (in varying circumscriptions) as a family distinct from Asparagaceae. Hesperocallis, sometimes placed in its own family, Hesperocallideaceae, has recently been shown to be closely related and its inclusion in Agavaceae has been recommended (Pires et al. 2004).

Species may be succulent or not. In general, Agavaceae leaves occur as rosettes at the end of a woody stem, which may range from extremely short to tree-like heights, as in the Joshua tree. The leaves are parallel-veined, and usually appear long and pointed, often with a hardened spine on the end, and sometimes with additional spines along the margins.

Agave species are used to make pulque
Pulque

Pulque, or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation juice of the maguey, and is a traditional native beverage of Mesoamerica....
 and mezcal
Mezcal

Mezcal, or mescal, is a Mexican distilled spirit protected by International Denomination of Origin made from agave plants. Its production and consumption is popularly associated with the Mexican state of Oaxaca....
, while others are valued for their fibers. They are quite popular for xeriscaping
Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to Landscape architecture and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation....
, many types having showy flowers.

Genera

  • Agave
    Agave

    Agave is a succulent plant plant of a large botanical genus of the same name, belonging to the family Agavaceae....
  • Anemarrhena
  • Behnia
  • Beschorneria
    Beschorneria

    Beschorneria is a genus of succulent plants belonging to the family Agavaceae and native to Mexico.Species include:*Beschorneria albiflora Matuda...
  • Bravoa
    Bravoa

    Bravoa is an botany genus of Agavaceae family ....
  • Camassia
    Camassia

    Camassia is a genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and east to Utah, Wyoming and Montana....
  • Chlorogalum
  • Chlorophytum
    Chlorophytum

    Chlorophytum is a genus of about 200-220 species of evergreen Perennial plant flowering plants in the Agavaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia....
  • Clistoyucca
  • Eremocrinum
  • Furcraea
    Furcraea

    Furcraea is a genus of succulent plants belonging to the family Agavaceae, native to tropical regions of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America....
  • Herreria
  • Hesperaloe
    Hesperaloe

    Hesperaloe is a genus of perennial yucca-like plants classified in the flowering plant family Agavaceae . The plants have long, narrow leaves produced in a basal rosette and flowers borne on long panicles or racemes....
  • Hesperocallis
  • Hesperoyucca
    Hesperoyucca

    Hesperoyucca is a small genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Agavaceae, closely related to and recently split from Yucca, but distinct in having dehiscent fruit and a scape more than 2.5 cm diameter with reflexed bracts....
  • Hosta
    Hosta

    Hosta is a genus of about 23?45 species of lily-like plants native to northeast Asia. They were once classified in the family Liliaceae but are now included in the family Agavaceae by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group....
  • Littaea
  • Manfreda
    Manfreda

    Manfreda is a genus of about 20 species of plants in the family Agavaceae. Along with Polianthes, members are commonly called tuberoses; some authorities classify the Manfreda with Polianthes, while others group them with Agave....
  • Polianthes
    Polianthes

    Polianthes is a genus of plants in the Agavaceae family. It includes tuberose , a plant that is commonly used in perfume making....
  • Prochnyanthes
  • Pseudobravoa
  • Samuela
  • Yucca
    Yucca

    The yuccas comprise the genus Yucca of 40-50 species of perennial plants, shrubs, and trees in the agave family Agavaceae, notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped Leaf and large terminal clusters of white or whitish flowers....

External links

  • in Flora of North America.
  • in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.