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Taxonomy

Physical Description

Family Liliaceae:

Herbs perennial, with a rhizome, bulb, or corm, rarely shrubby or treelike. Leaves basal and/or cauline, alternate, opposite, or whorled, parallel or rarely reticulate veined. Inflorescence a raceme, panicle, spike, umbel, reduced panicle, or other, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual, actinomorphic, rarely zygomorphic; bracts present or absent; bracteoles present or absent. Perianth usually corollalike, 6-merous, rarely 4- or 8-merous, in 2 whorls; segments free (tepals) or united. Stamens 6, rarely 3, 4, or 8, inserted opposite perianth segments; filaments free or adnate to perianth, rarely connate into a corona; anthers usually 2-loculed, basifixed or dorsifixed and versatile, introrse, latrorse, or extrorse, dehiscing usually by vertical slits. Carpels usually connate for most or all of their length, rarely only at base; ovary superior, rarely semi-inferior, 3-loculed, rarely 2- or 4-loculed, with axile placentae, or rarely 1-loculed with a parietal placenta; ovules usually anatropous. Nectaries septal, perigonal, or absent. Fruit a capsule or berry. Seeds with abundant endosperm and small embryo.

About 250 genera and 3500 species: worldwide, especially in temperate and subtropical regions; 57 genera (three endemic, two introduced) and 726 species (379 endemic, 11 introduced) in China.^[1]

Genus Cordyline:

Plants treelike or shrubby. Stems ± woody, usually few branched, with conspicuous leaf scars distally. Leaves crowded at apex of stems, petiolate (or sessile) ; petiole 10--30 cm, base amplexicaul; leaf blade elliptic-lanceolate to sword-shaped, veins essentially parallel but with lateral veins branching from midvein in proximal 1/2. Inflorescence arising from axils of distal leaves, usually paniculate, large, many branched. Flowers bisexual, solitary, usually tubular-campanulate or subcylindric; pedicel usually short, articulate at or near apex. Perianth with short tube; lobes in 2 whorls of 3. Stamens 6, inserted in tube or throat of perianth; anthers versatile. Ovary 3-loculed; ovules 2 to many per locule. Style slender; stigma capitate, small. Fruit a capsule, leathery, 1- to several seeded. Seeds black, coated with phytomelanin.

About 20 species: S and SE Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands, South America; one species (introduced) in China.^[2]

Images:

Similar Species

Members of the genus Cordyline:

There are approximately 212 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: C. 'Autumn' · C. 'Button Black' · C. 'Dark Star' · C. 'Emerald Isle' · C. 'Green Goddess' · C. 'Jurassic Jade' · C. 'Mary Lott' · C. 'Mike Silver' · C. 'Pacific Coral' · C.'Pink Integrity' (Pink Integrity Cordyline) · C. 'Pink Stripe' · C. 'Purple Sensation' · C. 'Purple Tower' (Cabbage Tree) · C. 'Red Bush' · C. 'Red Fountain' · C. 'Red Mountain' · C. 'Red Star' (Red Star Dracaena) · C. 'Sundance' (Sundance Dracaena) · C. angustifolia · C. angustissima · C. angustissimma · C. arborea · C. atropurpurea · C. australis (Cabbage Palm) · C. australis 'Albertii' (Cabbage Palm) · C. australis 'Apricot Spider' · C. australis 'Atropurpurea' · C. australis 'Black Night' · C. australis 'Black Tower' · C. australis 'Coffee Cream' · C. australis 'Karo Kiri' · C. australis 'Krakatoa' · C. australis 'Lemon Fountain' · C. australis 'Midnight Star' (Cabbage Palm) · C. australis 'Olive Fountain' · C. australis 'Peko' · C. australis 'Pink Champagne' · C. australis 'Pink Stripe' (Cabbage Palm) · C. australis 'Purple Heart' · C. australis 'Purpurea' (Purple Cabbage Tree) · C. australis 'Red Band' · C. australis 'Red Robin' · C. australis 'Red Sensation' (Cabbage Palm) · C. australis 'Red Star' (False Dracaena) · C. australis 'Sir Victor Davies' · C. australis 'Sparkler' · C. australis 'Sundance' (Cabbage Palm) · C. australis 'Ti Tawhiti' · C. australis 'Torbay Coffee Cream' · C. australis 'Torbay Dazzler' · C. australis 'Torbay Green' · C. australis 'Torbay Razzle Dazzle' · C. australis 'Torbay Red' · C. australis 'Torbay Sunset' · C. australis 'Torbay Surprise' · C. australis 'Variegata' · C. australis Purpurea Group · C. banksii (Forest Cabbage Tree) · C. banksii 'Purpurea' · C. baueri (Bauers Dracaena) · C. beuckelaerii · C. brasiliensis · C. calocoma · C. cannaefolia · C. cannifolia · C. casanovae · C. cernua · C. cheesemanii · C. coerulea · C. congesta · C. dennisoni · C. densicoma · C. densicosma · C. diffusa · C. dracaenoides · C. ensifolia · C. erythrorachis · C. ferrea · C. flabelliformis · C. floribunda · C. fontanesiana · C. forbesii · C. forsteri · C. fragrans · C. fruticosa (Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa ''kiwi'' · C. fruticosa 'Atom' · C. fruticosa 'Baby Spoon' (Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa 'Baby Ti' · C. fruticosa 'Bra01' (Caruba" Black Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa 'Calypso Queen' · C. fruticosa 'Caruba' (Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa 'Dr. Brown' (Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa 'Florica Red' (Florica Red Cordyline) · C. fruticosa 'Glauca' (Cabbage Tree) · C. fruticosa 'Hawaiian Flag' (Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa 'Miss Andrea' (Good Luck Plant) · C. fruticosa 'Negri' · C. fruticosa 'New Guinea Black' · C. fruticosa 'Orange Prince'

Members of the genus Peristernia:

There are approximately 73 species and subspecies in this genus: P. aethiops · P. australiensis · P. belcheri · P. brazieri · P. caledonica · P. carolinae · P. chlorostoma · P. chlorostomia · P. clathrata · P. columbarium · P. columbartum · P. croca · P. crocea · P. fastigium · P. fastigum · P. filicata · P. filicato · P. filmerae · P. forskali · P. forskalii · P. forskalii forskalii · P. forskalii leucothea · P. forskalli · P. fuscotincta · P. fuscotineta · P. fuscozonata · P. gemmata · P. granata · P. hesterae · P. hilaris · P. incarnata · P. incarnata} · P. incarnatus · P. ininuensis · P. inornata · P. iricolor · P. jonkeri · P. leucothea · P. lirata · P. liratus · P. mariei · P. marquesana · P. nassatula · P. nassatuta · P. nassoides · P. nassula · P. nassulata · P. nassutula · P. neglecta · P. newcombi · P. ochrostoma · P. philberti · P. phillerti · P. picta · P. preluchuana · P. pulchaella · P. pulchella · P. reincarnata · P. rhodostoma · P. rollandi · P. rosella · P. spinosa · P. squamosa · P. squamosus · P. subnassatula · P. sulcata luchuana · P. thaanumi · P. ustulata · P. ustulata luchuana · P. ustulata luhuana · P. violacea · P. wagneri · P. zealandica

Bibliography

• Wang Fa-tsuan & Tang Tsin, eds. 1978; 1980. Liliaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 15: 1--280; 14: 1--308.

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Notes

Identifiers:

• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2261834

Footnotes:

1. Xinqi Chen, Prof. Song-Yun Liang, Jie-mei Xu, David E. Boufford, Michael G. Gilbert, Rudolf V. Kamelin, Shoichi Kawano, Tetsuo Koyama, Elena V. Mordak, Junko Noguchi, Victor G. Soukup, Hiroshi Takahashi, Kamilla G. Tamanian, Minoru N. Tamura & Nicholas J. Turland "Liliaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 73. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
2. Chen Sing-chi, Nicholas J. Turland "Cordyline". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 204. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.