Introduction to the Amaryllidaceae Family

The Amaryllidaceae family is a gorgeous family of often showy flowers, making them popular in gardens and the cut flower industry. My first experience with the family is with wild onion (Allium) species, which produce small umbels of lovely flowers and often smell like the onions we eat due to the presence of sulfide compounds. These are common in temperate climates, and when I went further south I got to explore the more large-flowered species of the Amarylidoideae subfamily, which are virtually all worthy of a spot in your native garden.

Common Botanical Description

If you’re new to plant morphology, this guide is a perfect beginner’s description for learning to identify the Amaryllidaceae family, with no need to know any scientific jargon. Below this section are morphology photos to help you identify the family, followed by pictures of individual species found in North America. But for researchers or those wanting to learn a more in-depth version, refer to the Scientific Botanical Description below the images for highly detailed scientific descriptions and genus-level distribution data.

Leaves and Stems of the Amaryllidaceae: This is a family of mostly herbaceous bulbs, although some genera have rhizomes (thick roots). They usually have a grouping of leaves from their base, often lacking stems altogether, with leaves that are simple and often flat, rounded, or angular and may be onion-scented in the onion subfamily.

Flowers of the Amaryllidaceae: Flowers always contain both male (stamens) and female (ovary, stigma, style) parts in the same flower (bisexual). Flowers may appear on their own or grouped in various inflorescences, often umbel-like, on leafless stalks (scapes), often enclosed in spathe-like bracts at the base. Flowers are made of 6 petal-like tepals in 2 whorls, but some have an extra inner whorl (corona) that may come in a wide range of colors.

Reproductive Features of the Amaryllidaceae: There are nearly always 6 stamens in 2 whorls (3+3), but sometimes they are fused at the base or into a tube, and they may or may not have appendages at their base. The ovary almost always has 3 chambers (locules) with a single usually terminal style.

Fruits of the Amaryllidaceae: Fruits are nearly always dry capsules that split apart when mature, but rarely it may be a berry.

Uses of Amaryllidaceae 

There are numerous cultivated species in this family for their often large and showy colorful flowers, including common garden plants and cut flowers like daffodils, snowdrops, numerous lily-like plants, and others from the Amaryllis, Crinum, Sternbergia, Nerine, and Clivia genera. There are also several vegetables from the Allioideae subfamily, including onions, chives, leeks, and garlic. A small number of species are used medicinally, mostly in indigenous medicines.

Ecosystem and Wildlife Values of Amaryllidaceae

The Amaryllidaceae often provide food and habitat for insects, pollinators, and small animals. Animals will feed on the bulbous roots while countless pollinators flock to the floral nectaries found in their flowers.

Many species are also known for their ecological resilience in dry or harsh environments. in this family are renowned for their ecological resilience in dry or challenging environments and for producing specialized compounds that serve both ecological and medicinal functions.

Morphology of Amaryllidaceae in North America

Some Species of Amaryllidaceae Found in North America

Allioideae Subfamily

Allium drummondii—Drummond’s Onion

This bulb-forming perennial smells mildly of onion and produces pretty umbels of pink or white flowers every spring. It is a very common native, considered invasive in some areas, especially in Texas, where it is very abundant. However, it is native to the south-central United States (including Texas) and south into northeastern Mexico.

Allium textile—Textile Onion

This lovely wild onion produces egg-shaped bulbs and a leafless scape up to 40 cm tall with bell-shaped flowers with yellow anthers and pollen. It is native to the Canadian prairies (AB, SK, MB) and south through the plains and Rocky Mountain region as far south as northern New Mexico.

Allium vineale—Wild Garlic

This one is easy to identify, as it smells strongly of garlic, and it produces a unique inflorescence of bulbils rather than flowers (no to few flowers) that often start growing while still attached, like this one in the photo. It is native to Europe and Africa and is becoming invasive in North America.

Nothoscordum bivalve—Crow Poison

This bulbous perennial produces 1 to 4 narrow leaves up to 30 cm long with an umbel of 3-6 flowers with whitish tepals with a dark midvein; it does not smell of garlic or onion. It is native to the southeastern USA, Mexico, and South America.

Amaryllidoideae Subfamily

Hymenocallis liriosme—Texas Spider-Lily

This beautiful native produces wide, flat, strappy leaves and few-flowered umbels with large white flowers with conspicuous long, skinny tepals and a conspicuous yellow-green ‘eye’ in the center. It is endemic to the southeastern USA.

Narcissus jonquilla—Rush Daffodil

This is one of several daffodil species that have been introduced to North America; this one was growing in a forest in Virginia, USA. Daffodils are easily recognized by their often very large and usually yellow corona in the center surrounding the reproductive parts of the flower.

Scientific Botanical Description of the Amaryllidaceae Family

Habit & Leaf Form of the Amaryllidaceae Family

The Amaryllidaceae are a family of mostly geophyte herbs, occasionally epiphytes or aquatics, that may be herbaceous or succulent, often deciduous. Most of the family is bulbous, a key characteristic, but some are rhizomatous (Agapanthus, Clivia, and Scadoxus), and some may appear transitional between the two. They are perennials that usually (but not always) have a basal aggregation of leaves. Hydrophytes are rooted and have their leaves submerged. Most others are mesophytic, but xerophytic herbs are also seen.

Leaves are mostly alternate distichous but can be spiral (e.g., Crinum), sessile (usually), or nearly petiolate. They are always sheathing, typically with free margins. Leaves are simple, entire, linear, lanceolate, oblong, ovate, or orbicular and may be flat, rolled, terete, or angular. In Allioideae, they are often onion-scented due to allylic sulfide compounds. Leaves are parallel veined and never have cross-venules. Lamina margins are entire. Leaf development is graminaceous. Stomata are present and anomocytic. Mesophyll, often with mucilage cells and crystal raphides, may be laticiferous in Allioideae.

Flowers of the Amaryllidaceae Family

Plants of the Amaryllidaceae family are always hermaphrodites with floral nectaries, mostly from the gynoecium from septal nectaries; pollination is mostly entomophilous. Flowers may be solitary or aggregated in condensed cymes, umbels, umbellate helicoid cymes (esp. Allioideae), or heads (by condensation). Inflorescences are scapiflorous, usually with involucral bracts (mostly with 2 (1–8), typically spathe-like, free or connate scales).

Flowers are actinomorphic to very irregular and somewhat zygomorphic, 3-merous, and tetracyclic or pentacyclic. The perigone tube may be present (short to long) or absent. The perianth is made of 6 tepals, free to joined into a floral tube at the base; 2 whorled (3+3 but often with a conspicuous corona-like extra inner whorl); isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls; green, green to white, white, cream, yellow, red, pink, purple, brown, or various combinations; blue or violet sometimes in Allioideae. Tepal apex trichomes (TAT) present in some genera.

Androecium of the Amaryllidaceae Family

There are nearly always 6 (3-18) androecial members in 2 whorls (3+3), except for Gethyllis with 9-18 stamens. They are free of the perianth or adnate to the base of the tube or tepals (always adnate in Allioideae); they are mostly free of one another, but they may be coherent, 1-adelphous, or basally connate (Allium). The androecium is almost always exclusively fertile stamens; they are isomerous with the perianth (mostly Allioideae) or otherwise nearly always diplostemonous, alterniperianth, or occasionally opposiperianth in Allioideae. Stamens have filaments flat in Allioideae and are often appendiculate in Amarylidoideae with connate filaments sometimes expanded to form a staminal corona. Anthers are nearly always dorsifixed, usually versatile, dehiscing via longitudinal slits or pores, and usually introrse or sometimes latrorse (Crinum).

Gynoecium of the Amaryllidaceae Family

The gynoecium is always 3-carpeled, isomerous with the perianth; the pistil is usually 3-celled (rarely 1). The gynoecium is mostly syncarpous (rarely synstylovarous?) and mostly inferior in Amarylidoideae and always superior in Allioideae. The ovary is almost always 3-locular with one terminal (Amaryllidoideae) or nearly gynobasic (sometimes Allioideae) style. There may be 1 or 3 stigmas; 1–3 lobed; capitate (always?), dry (mostly), or wet types (some); and papillate. Placentation is unilocular when basal (Calostemma) or parietal or when trilocular (usually) it is axile (always in Allioideae) or basal (rarely). Ovules 1-50 per locule; non-arillate; anatropous or usually campylotropous in Allioideae; without integuments (rarely), unitegmic or bitegmic (usually); crassinucellate or pseudocrassinucellate.  

Fruit of the Amaryllidaceae Family

The fruits are mostly non-fleshy dehiscent capsules or rarely a fleshy indehiscent berry. Seeds are endospermic and oily but never contain starch and may be winged (e.g., Agapanthus) or not. Allioideae testae are encrusted with black phytomelan.

Taxonomy of the Amaryllidaceae Family

The Amaryllidaceae is a family with 1,605 species in 73 genera of the Asparagales order of non-commelinid monocots. It was and occasionally may still be found included in the Liliaceae family, but molecular phylogenetics does not support this classification. Furthermore, sometimes the Allioideae is separated, but under the current description it is a subfamily, and we have included it here. The Amaryllidaceae currently has 3 accepted subfamilies:

1. Agapanthoideae is a small family of 1 genus and 8 species from South Africa. They are robust rhizomatous herbs with fleshy two-ranked leaves and scapose umbellate inflorescences of mostly large blue flowers.
2. Allioideae is a large subfamily (the former onion family) of 795 species, almost entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, from cold temperate to subtropical climates. They are characterized by being bulbous or rhizomatous perennials with a characteristic onion odor from sulfur compounds, spiral leaves with closed sheaths, and laticifers.
3. Amaryllidoideae is the largest subfamily, with 900 species in 75 genera; they are mostly tropical, especially in South America and Africa. They are mostly perennial bulbous geophytes with strap-shaped leaves and showy flowers.

Genera of the Amaryllidaceae Family:

Agapanthoideae: Agapanthus (8).

Allioideae: Allium (970-1112), Atacamallium (1), Beauverdia (? or syn. Nothoscordum), Gilliesia (13), Ipheion (3), Latace (2), Leucocoryne (48), Miersia (11), Nothoscordum (94), Schickendantziella (1), Solaria (6? or syn. Gilliesia), Speea (2? or syn. Miersia), Trichlora (4), Tristagma (17), Tulbaghia (28).

Amaryllidoideae: Amaryllis (2), Ammocharis (7), Boophone (2), Brunsvigia (19), Calostemma (3), Cearanthes (1), Chlidanthus (5), Clinanthus (24), Clivia (6), Crinum (116), Crossyne (2), Cryptostephanus (3), Cyrtanthus (59), Eremolirion (1 or syn. Paposoa), Eucrosia (6), Eustephia (6), Galanthus (25), Gethyllis (31), Griffinia (23), Haemanthus (24), Hannonia (1), Hessea (14), Hieronymiella (11), Hippeastrum (116), Hymenocallis (67), Ismene (11), Lapiedra (1), Leptochiton (2), Leucojum (3?), Lycoris (25), Mathieua (1), Narcissus (76), Nerine (25), Pamianthe (3), Pancratium (24), Paposoa (1), Paramongaia (5), Phaedranassa (11), Phycella (13), Placea (4? or syn. Phycella), Plagiolirion (1), Proiphys (5), Pucara (1? or syn. Stenomesson), Pyrolirion (8), Rauhia (5), Rhodolirium (2), Scadoxus (9), Shoubiaonia (1), Stenomesson (19), Sternbergia (8), Strumaria (29), Traubia (1), Ungernia (10), Urceolina (29), Vagaria (2), Worsleya (1), Zephyranthes (192).

Key Differences From Similar Families

This family can be confused with other plants with storage organs, including the Iridaceae, which always has 3 stamens instead of 6. It can also be confused with some Liliaceae, which also have 6 stamens and a superior ovary, which could have it confused with some Allioideae, but Liliaceae often do not have a basal aggregation of leaves, while most Allioideae do.

Distribution of Amaryllidaceae

The Amaryllidaceae family is widespread but mostly paleotropical and neotropical, with some subtropical and temperate (especially in the Allioideae). They are nearly cosmopolitan. In the Americas this family is found in Canada (including the Arctic), the USA, south through Mexico, the Antilles, Central America, and South America to the southernmost region.

Distribution of Amaryllidaceae in the Americas

Canadian Genera Include:

Allioideae: Allium 17 spp. native to all of Canada, including the Arctic, except PE. Amaryllidoideae: Galanthus 2 spp. intro ON, NB?, and NL Island?; Leucojum 1 sp. intro ON, NS; Narcissus 3 spp. intro BC, ON, ephemeral NB, QC, and NL Island?

USA Genera Include:

Agapanthoideae: Agapanthus 1 sp. intro to CA. Allioideae: Allium 103 spp. native and intro in all of USA, inc. AK; Ipheion 1 sp. intro to OR, CA, TX, AL, and VA; Nothoscordum 4 spp. native to most of S half of USA from AZ E to NJ and all states S exc. NV, UT, CO, PA, NJ, WV, MD, and DE, and intro in CA; Tristagma 1 sp. intro to OR, CA, TX, OK, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, VA. Amaryllidoideae: Amaryllis 1 sp. intro to CA, LA; Cooperia 5 spp. native NM, TX, OK, KS, AR, LA, MS, AL, FL, may now be syn. of Zephyranthes; Crinum 4 spp. native and intro TX, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC; Galanthus 2 spp. intro WA, UT, NC, VA, MD, DE, PA, NJ, OH, NY, RI, MA; Hippeastrum 4 spp. intro FL, TX, AL, and HI; Hymenocallis 17 spp. native and intro. in TX, OK, MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, TN, KY, IL, and IN, there are at least 3 endemics; Leucojum 2 spp. intro in OR, CA, TX, LA, AR, MO, MS, AL, FL, SC, NC, TN, KY, IL, IN, OH, PA, VA, MD, DE, NY, CT, MA, and ME; Lycoris 2 spp. intro in IL, OH, LA, MS, AL, TN, FL, SC, and NC; Narcissus 11 spp. intro in most of the E USA, the Pacific states, TX, and UT; Pancratium 1 sp. intro to CA; Sternbergia 1 sp. intro to VA; Zephyranthes 12 spp. native (inc. 5 endemics) and introduced to AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, VA, and MD and introduced in HI.

Mexico Genera Include:

Agapanthoideae: Agapanthus 1 sp. intro Nay E to Tam S to Chp, plus NL and Yuc. Allioideae: Allium 31 spp. native and intro throughout Mexico; Ipheion 1 sp. intro Nay; Nothoscordum 2 spp. native to most of Mexico, exc. Yuc and QR; Tulbaghia 1 sp. intro to Chp, Cd Mex, Gto, Mch, and NL. Amaryllidoideae: Amaryllis 1 sp. intro Chp, Gto, Ver, Yuc; Clivia 1 sp. intro to SW+C+SE Mexico; Crinum 6 spp. native to SW+SE Mexico and intro elsewhere; Hippeastrum 1-2 spp. intro to SW+SE+C Mexico; Hymenocallis 34 spp. native, inc. 30 endemics, native throughout all of Mexico; Ismene 1 sp. intro Chp, Tam; Narcissus 1 sp. intro to C Mexico; Scadoxus 1 sp. intro Gto, Oax, Ver; Urceolina 1 sp. intro Dgo S to Chp; Zephyranthes ~30 spp. native, inc. 6 endemic, widespread throughout all of Mexico.

Neotropical Genera Include:

Allioideae: Allium ~3 spp., including 1 native to Guatemala and Honduras and 1-2 spp. intro to the Greater Antilles, Colombia, Ecuador, C Chile, and N Argentina; Atacamallium monospecific endemic to the Atacama Desert of N Chile; Gilliesia 13 spp. in C Chile and NW+S Argentina, most are endemic to Chile; Ipheion 3 spp. originally endemic to NE Argentina, Uruguay, and S Brazil; Latace 2 spp. narrow endemic genera of N+C Chile and NW Argentina; Leucocoryne 48 spp. narrow endemic genera of N+C Chile; Miersia 11 spp. neoendemic genera of Bolivia and C Chile; Nothoscordium ~30 spp. native to Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, and C+E Brazil and intro Jamaica; Schickendantziella is a monospecific endemic of Tucumán, Argentina + Bolivia; Speea 2 spp. endemic in Chile, but s/t as syn. of Miersa; Trichlora 4 spp. narrow endemic genera of Peru; Tristagma 17 spp. native to in Peru, C+S Chile, and NW+S Argentina. Amaryllidoideae: Amaryllis 1 sp. intro Cuba, Hispaniola, Juan Fernandez Island; Cearanthes monospecific endemic of NE Brazil; Chlidanthus 5 spp. endemic mostly to the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and NW Argentina; Clinanthus 24 spp. W SAM endemic genera, most endemic to Peru, but also in Ecuador, Bolivia, N Chile, and NW Argentina; Crinum ~5 spp. native to Honduras S to Peru, N+E Brazil, also in Paraguay and Cuba and introduced to some of the Caribbean islands; Eremolirion is a monospecific endemic of N + C Chile (may be described as Paposoa); Eucrosia 6 spp. endemic genera of Ecuador and Peru; Eustephia 6 spp. endemic genera of Peru and Bolivia; Griffinia 23 spp. narrow endemic genera of E+C Brazil; Hieronymiella 11 neoendemic spp. native to Bolivia, Peru, NW Argentina; Hippeastrum 116 spp. former neoendemic genera native to Costa Rica and tropical SAM S to Peru, Bolivia, and N Argentina, introduced in the Antilles, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Belize; Hymenocallis ~34 spp. native to CAM (exc. El Salvador), the Caribbean and Antilles Islands, and tropical SAM S to Peru and Brazil; Ismene 11 narrow endemic spp. of Peru and Ecuador; Leptochiton 2 neoendemic spp. in Ecuador and Peru; Mathieua is a monospecific extinct species formerly endemic to Peru; Pamianthe 3 neoendemic spp. of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia; Paposoa is a monospecific endemic of N + C Chile; Paramongaia 5 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru and Bolivia; Phaedranassa 11 neoendemic spp. of Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador; Phycella 13 spp. endemic genus of C+N Chile; Placea 4? spp. endemic to N+C Chile; Plagiolirion is a monospecific rare endemic of Colombia thought extinct until rediscovered in Río Cauca Valley in 1989; Pyrolirion 8 neoendemic spp. of N Chile, Peru, and Bolivia; Rauhia 5 spp. narrow Peru endemic genus; Rhodolirium 2 SAM endemics native to C Chile and NW+S Argentina; Stenomesson 19 W SAM endemic spp. of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and N Chile; Traubia is a monospecific endemic of N+C Chile; Urceolina 29 neoendemic spp. of Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, N Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru; Worsleya monospecific endemic of E Brazil; Zephyranthes ~180 spp. native to CAM, the Antilles, and SAM S to Tierra del Fuego (exc. Guyana and French Guinea).

Patagonia Genera Include:

Allioideae: Allium 1 sp. intro to S Argentina and Falkland Is.; Gilliesia 1-2 sp. in S Argentina but may be just N of this region; Latace 1 sp. in Los Lagos, Chile; Leucocoryne 1 sp. in Bio Bio and Lagos, Chile; Nothoscordum 1-2 spp. native in the N Patagonia region in Bio Bio S to Los Lagos, Chile, and Rio Negro, Argentina; Solaria 1 sp. at the N limit in Bio Bio, Chile, and E Neuquen, Argentina, or syn. of Gilliesia; Tristagma 4 spp. native throughout the entire region from the N limit to the S end of Magallanes / Tierra del Fuego. Amaryllidoideae: Rhodolirium 2 spp. Bio Bio to Araucania, Chile, and Rio Negro to Chubut, Argentina; Zephyranthes 1 sp. in Argentina in Neuquen and Rio Negro S to Chubut, also in S Chile.

Additional Information and References

• Visit Lyrae’s Dictionary of Botanical Terms to learn the terminology of botanists. Note that if you hover over most of the words in the articles, you can also get definitions from them there.
• Willis, Lyrae (Unpublished). Plant Families of North America. This is where all of the family descriptions come from. Below should be most of my references for this, along with my own personal observations throughout North America.
• Canadensys: Acadia University, Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of British Columbia. http://data.canadensys.net/explorer (accessed 2020 – current)
• FNA (1993+). Flora of North America. https://floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page. Accessed 2022-current.
• GBIF.org (2020+), GBIF Home Page. Available from: https://www.gbif.org
• iNaturalist.org (2020+). https://www.inaturalist.org/. Accessed 2020-current.
• Naturalista: CONABIO http://www.naturalista.mx (Accessed 2020–current).
• Neotropikey: Milliken, W., Klitgård, B., & Baracat, A. eds. (2009+). Neotropikey: Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants of the Neotropics. www.kew.org/neotropikey.com (accessed 2020 – current).
• Patagonia Wildflowers: Wildflower Identification Site. https://patagoniawildflowers.org/ Accessed throughout the fall of 2020.
• POWO (2019+). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet: http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/
• Stevens, P. F. (2001+). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 14, July 2017 [more or less continuously updated since]. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/
• USDA, NRCS. 2020. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 2 June 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC, USA; Accessed 2020-present.
• Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. (1992+). The Families of Flowering Plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 2nd May 2020. delta-intkey.com. Accessed spring through fall of 2020.
• WFO (2022): World Flora Online. Published on the Internet: http://www.worldfloraonline.org. Accessed Spring 2022 – current

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I am currently seeking funding to expand my website and SEO capabilities as I keep adding new families, and I am also looking to invest in a new macro lens, as I will soon be adding floral dissections to the families as they become available to me. You can donate to help support native plant education using the GoFundMe link, also at the bottom of the page.

Copyright Information

The information and the photos on this site are free to use for educational purposes, with proper attribution. For other uses, please contact me first.

You can cite this site as Willis, Lyrae (2020+). Lyrae’s Nature Blog – Plant Families of North America. https://lyraenatureblog.com/