Allioideae is the
botanical nameA botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
of a monocot subfamily of flowering plants in the
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
AmaryllidaceaeAmaryllidoideae is the subfamily of flowering plants that takes its name from the genus Amaryllis. It is part of the family Amaryllidaceae, in order Asparagales...
,
orderIn scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
AsparagalesAsparagales is the name of an order of plants, used in modern classification systems such as the APG III system . The order takes its name from the family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots. The order has only recently been recognized in classification systems...
. It was formerly treated as a separate family,
Alliaceae. The subfamily name is derived from the
generic nameBinomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
of the
typeIn biology, a type is one particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached...
genusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
,
AlliumAllium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
.
Successive revisions of the influential
Angiosperm Phylogeny GroupThe Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...
(APG) classification have changed the
circumscriptionIn taxonomy, circumscription is the definition of the limits of a taxonomic group of organisms. One goal of taxonomy is to achieve a stable circumscription for every taxonomic group. Achieving stability can be simple or difficult....
of the family. In the
1998The APG system of plant classification is the first, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was superseded in 2003 by a revision, the APG II system, and then in 2009 by a further...
version, Alliaceae were a distinct family; in the
2003The APG II system of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...
version, combining the Alliaceae with the Agapanthaceae and the Amaryllidaceae
sensu stricto was recommended but optional; in the 2009 version, only the broad circumscription of the Amaryllidaceae is allowed, with the Alliaceae reduced to a subfamily, Allioideae.
Note that quite a few of the plants that were once included in family Alliaceae have been assigned to the family
ThemidaceaeBrodiaeoideae is a monocot subfamily of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has been treated as a separate family, Themidaceae. They are native to Central America and western North America, from British Columbia to Guatemala...
in all of the
classificationsBiological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....
by the
APGThe Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...
.
Some of the
speciesIn 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. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of
AlliumAllium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
are important food plants for example
onionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s (
Allium cepa),
chivesChives are the smallest species of the edible onions. A perennial plant, they are native to Europe, Asia and North America.. Allium schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old World....
(
A. schoenoprasum),
garlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
(
A. sativum and
A. scordoprasum), and leeks (
A. porrum). Species of
Allium, Gilliesia, Ipheion, Leucocoryne, Nothoscordum, and
Tulbaghia are
cultivatedHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
as
ornamentalsOrnamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
.
Thirteen of the total of about 20
generaGenera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
are endemic to
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
South AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Nothoscordum rangesIn biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
from
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Allium is indigenous to most of
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
,
EurasiaEurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, and
North AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
The largest genera are
Allium (260-690 species),
Nothoscordum (25), and
Tulbaghia (22). Some of the generic limits are not clear.
Ipheion,
Nothoscordum, and possibly others are not monophyletic.
Allioideae is divided into three
tribesIn biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
: Allieae, Tulbaghieae, and Gilliesieae. Allieae contains only one genus
Allium (
Milula is merged with
Allium in the latest systems). Tulbaghieae contains only
Tulbaghia. Gilliesieae contains the remaining genera. Allieae is sister to a
cladeA clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
composed of
Tulbaghia and Gilliesieae.
Genera
, the following genera are included in the Allioideae:
- Allium
Allium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
L.
- Ancrumia Harv. ex Baker
- Caloscordum
Caloscordum is a genus that consists of five species of perennials native to China. The botanical name comes from the Greek, kalos means beautiful and skordon means garlic...
Herb.
- Erinna Phil.
- Garaventia Looser
- Gethyum Phil.
- Gilliesia Lindl.
- Ipheion
The plant genus Ipheion belongs to Allioideae subfamily of the Amaryllidaceae family. There has been uncertainty as to the limits of the genus; research published in 2010 suggests that although related to genera such as Tristagma and Nothoscordum, it is a distinct genus of 3 species.The genus...
Rafinesque
- Latace Phil.
- Leucocoryne
Leucocoryne is a genus of bulbous perennials in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae. There are twelve species, all native to Chile. The foliage of all species is long and narrow and has an onion-like scent...
Lindl. |
Miersia Lindl.
Milula Prain
MuillaThe genus Muilla includes three to four species of flowering plants. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae. They are native to western North America...
S.Watson ex Bentham
NothoscordumNothoscordum is a genus in the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae. It is probably paraphyletic.-Species:According to the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families , the family contains the following species:...
Kunth.
Schickendantziella Looser
Solaria Phil.
Speea Loes.
Trichlora Baker
Tristagma Poepp.
Tulbaghia L. |
The genera
AndrostephiumThe genus Androstephium belongs to the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae. It contains three species.Species include:*Androstephium breviflorum - pink funnel lily*Androstephium caeruleum - blue funnel lily-External links:*...
,
BesseraBessera is a genus of plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae. A small genus of mostly herbaceous flowering plants with corms, they are perennials native to Mexico...
,
BloomeriaBloomeria, a geophyte in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae,, was named for H. G. Bloomer an early San Francisco botanist. It consists of three species of California and Baja California:* Bloomeria clevelandii S. Watson...
,
BrodiaeaBrodiaea is a monocot genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae, also known by the common name cluster-lilies...
,
DandyaDandya is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish.-See also:* Prehistoric fish* List of prehistoric bony fish-External links:*...
,
DichelostemmaDichelostemma is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. The genus is native to the western United States, especially in northern California, but also east to Utah and north to Oregon and southern Washington....
,
Jaimehintonia,
MillaMilla is a genus of plant belonging to the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae, and contains the following species of plants.* Milla biflora, Mexican star...
,
MuillaThe genus Muilla includes three to four species of flowering plants. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae. They are native to western North America...
,
PetronymphePetronymphe is a genus of one species of flowering plant found in Mexico. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae ....
,
Triteleia, and
TriteleiopsisTriteleiopsis is a genus of one species of flowering plant found in in southern Arizona and north-west Mexico. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae ....
are now treated in the family
ThemidaceaeBrodiaeoideae is a monocot subfamily of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has been treated as a separate family, Themidaceae. They are native to Central America and western North America, from British Columbia to Guatemala...
.
Petromymphe is back in Themidaceae after spending a few years in Anthericaceae (now a
segregateIn taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off...
of
AgavaceaeAgavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Joshua tree...
).
History
In 1985,
DahlgrenRolf Martin Theodor Dahlgren was a Swedish-Danish botanist, professor at the University of Copenhagen from 1973 to his death....
, Clifford, and Yeo defined their Alliaceae to include all of the genera that are now there, plus
AgapanthusAgapanthus is the only genus in the subfamily Agapanthoideae of the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae. The family is in the monocot order Asparagales....
and a group of genera that are now placed in Themidaceae, or its equivalent, the subfamily Brodiaeoideae of
AsparagaceaeAsparagaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.In earlier classification systems, the species involved were often treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae...
. They divided Alliaceae into three subfamilies: Agapanthoideae, Allioideae, and Gilliesioideae. Agapanthoideae consisted of
Agapanthus and
Tulbaghia. Allioideae contained two tribes: Brodiaeeae and a broadly defined Allieae. Gilliesioideae was composed of about half of the genera now placed in Gilliesieae, the rest being assigned to Allieae.
In 1996, a molecular phylogenetic study of the
rbcLRibulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase, commonly known by the shorter name RuBisCO, is an enzyme involved in the first major step of carbon fixation, a process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted by plants to energy-rich molecules such as glucose. RuBisCo is an abbreviation...
geneA gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
showed that
Agapanthus was misplaced in Alliaceae, and the authors excluded it from the family. They also raised Brodiaeeae to family
rankIn biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
as Themidaceae. They reduced the tribe Allieae to two genera,
Allium and
Milula, and transferred the rest of Allieae to Gilliesieae. This is the circumscription which the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group accepted in the
APGThe APG system of plant classification is the first, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was superseded in 2003 by a revision, the APG II system, and then in 2009 by a further...
classification of 1998 and which later became known as Alliaceae sensu stricto.
In the
APG II systemThe APG II system of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...
of 2003, Alliaceae could be recognized sensu stricto or sensu lato, as mentioned above. Soon after the publication of APG II, the ICBN
conservedA conserved name or nomen conservandum is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. Nomen conservandum is a Latin term, meaning a "name which should be conserved"...
the name Amaryllidaceae for the family that had been called Alliaceae sensu lato in APG II.
When the
APG III systemThe APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...
was published in 2009, the alternative circumscriptions were discontinued and Alliaceae was no longer recognized. Alliaceae sensu stricto became the subfamily Allioideae of Amaryllidaceae sensu lato. Some botanists have not strictly followed the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and have recognized the smaller version of Alliaceae at family rank.
External links