By the modern approach, Liliales consist of 10 families, among which Corsiaceae is notable for being saprophytes.
It is assumed that the Liliales originate from the Lower Cretaceous, over 100 million years ago.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Liliales (381 words)
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At one time the Liliales was considered to be one of the largest groups of monocots.
Liliales : On the left, a bulb of Fritillaria; bulbs are underground fleshy storage leaves wrapped tightly around the stem, such as in onion and garlic.
In any case, it is quite likely that the group existed in some form by the Late Cretaceous, as it is believed to be one of the most "primitive" groups of monocots, that s, its appearance and ancestry indicate an early separation from other monocots.
Liliales are clearly circumscribed in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence analyses, but are difficult to define on the basis of morphological characters, resulting in varying family composition in different classifications.
Separation of Liliales from the lilylike Asparagales has proved particularly problematic, but they differ in nectary position (septal in Asparagales) and absence of phytomelan, a dark seedcoat pigment present in most families of Asparagales.
Nearly all features marking the families of Liliales are micromorphological (for example, perigonal nectaries, nuclear endosperm formation).
Stem group Liliales are dated to ca 124 mybp, crown group Liliales to ca 117 mybp (Janssen and Bremer 2004), rather different from the younger estimate in Bremer (2000).
Stem group Campynemataceae are dated to ca 117 mybp, crown group Campynemataceae to ca 73 mybp (Janssen and Bremer 2004: note that Campynemataceae are sister to the rest of Liliales there).
Othe stem and crown group ages for families in this group can be found there; note that the topology of their tree differs from that given here, and Melanthiaceae (stem age - 107 mybp; crown age - 97 mybp) are also not part of the clade.
The order is a vast assemblage of plants whose flowers usually have three petals and three sepals—the sepals usually resembling the petals in shape and colour—and whose leaves are generally linear or strap-shaped with parallel veins.
"Liliales." Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
genus of African plants, of the family Liliaceae (order Liliales), that is especially noted for the popular spider plant.
