Gynoecium ( / ɡ aɪ ˈ n iː s i . ə m , dʒ ɪ ˈ n iː ʃ i . ə m / ; from Ancient Greek γυνή ( gunḗ ) 'woman, female' and οἶκος ( oîkos ) 'house'; pl. : gynoecia ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds . The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) pistils and is typically surrounded by the pollen -producing reproductive organs , the stamens , collectively called the androecium . The gynoecium is often referred to as the " female " portion of the flower, although rather than directly producing female gametes (i.e. egg cells ), the gynoecium produces megaspores , each of which develops into a female gametophyte which then produces egg cells.
72-740: See text Scilloideae (named after the genus Scilla , "squill") is a subfamily of bulbous plants within the family Asparagaceae . Scilloideae is sometimes treated as a separate family Hyacinthaceae , named after the genus Hyacinthus . Scilloideae or Hyacinthaceae include many familiar garden plants such as Hyacinthus (hyacinths), Hyacinthoides (bluebells), Muscari (grape hyacinths) and Scilla and Puschkinia (squills or scillas). Some are important as cut flowers . Scilloideae are distributed mostly in Mediterranean climates , including South Africa , Central Asia and South America . Their flowers have six tepals and six stamens with
144-468: A style and an apical structure called a stigma that receives pollen. The word "pistil" comes from Latin pistillum meaning pestle . A sterile pistil in a male flower is referred to as a pistillode . The pistils of a flower are considered to be composed of one or more carpels . A carpel is the female reproductive part of the flower—usually composed of the style , and stigma (sometimes having its individual ovary , and sometimes connecting to
216-462: A superior ovary , which previously placed them within the lily family (Liliaceae), and their leaves are fleshy, mucilaginous , and arranged in a basal rosette . The Scilloideae, like most lily-like monocots , were at one time placed in a very broadly defined lily family (Liliaceae). The subfamily is recognized in modern classification systems such as the APG III system of 2009. It is also treated as
288-409: A broad stigmatic crest along the margin allows pollen tubes access along the surface and between hairs at the margins. Two kinds of fusion have been distinguished: postgenital fusion that can be observed during the development of flowers, and congenital fusion that cannot be observed i.e., fusions that occurred during phylogeny. But it is very difficult to distinguish fusion and non-fusion processes in
360-428: A carpel or in groups of fused carpels. After fertilization, the gynoecium develops into a fruit that provides protection and nutrition for the developing seeds, and often aids in their dispersal. The gynoecium has several specialized tissues. The tissues of the gynoecium develop from genetic and hormonal interactions along three-major axes. These tissue arise from meristems that produce cells that differentiate into
432-400: A conical or dome-shaped receptacle . In later lineages, carpels tend to be in whorls . The relationship of the other flower parts to the gynoecium can be an important systematic and taxonomic character. In some flowers, the stamens, petals, and sepals are often said to be "fused" into a "floral tube" or hypanthium . However, as Leins & Erbar (2010) pointed out, "the classical view that
504-548: A few are autumn-flowering. Several Scilla species are valued as ornamental garden plants . Species of Scilla have been known since classical antiquity , being described by both Greek ( Theophrastus (371–287 BC) and Discorides (40–90 AD)) and Roman ( Pliny (23–79 AD) ) writers. Theophrastus described Scilla hyacinthoides ( skilla ), and more briefly S. autumnalis and S. bifolia in his Historia plantarum , where he mentions "those of squill" (σκῐ́λλης; skilles ). In classical literature, Scilla
576-472: A gametophyte shoot in mosses , liverworts , and hornworts . The corresponding terms for the male parts of those plants are clusters of antheridia within the androecium. Flowers that bear a gynoecium but no stamens are called pistillate or carpellate . Flowers lacking a gynoecium are called staminate. The gynoecium is often referred to as female because it gives rise to female (egg-producing) gametophytes; however, strictly speaking sporophytes do not have
648-421: A hypanthium is present, but is either free from the gynoecium (in which case it may appear to be a cup or tube surrounding the gynoecium) or connected partly to the gynoecium (with the stamens, petals, and sepals attached to the hypanthium part of the way up the ovary). Perigynous flowers are often referred to as having a half-inferior ovary (or, sometimes, partially inferior or half-superior ). This arrangement
720-575: A much smaller genus referred to as Scilla s.s. or Scilla sensu Speta, with about 30 species. However, this has not been generally accepted, leaving a much larger Scilla s.l. of about 80 species. Although the Flora of North America mentions (but does not list) 50 species, World Flora Online lists 83 species, as of May 2022. Speta's scheme (1998) created 8 separate genera, but many of these are very narrowly defined being either monotypic (single species) or oligotypic (very few species). Both
792-470: A possible synonym to Scilla bifolia L. and molecular methods failed to support the existence of a separate genus, but rather its specimens appeared intermixed with those of Scilla . Although there are distinguishing morphological features (e.g fused tepal bases and broadened filaments ), these were considered paraphyletic , having arisen in several lines within the Hyacinthaceae. Furthermore, it
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#1732908838594864-553: A pronounced dry season during the summer). Scilloideae reproduce both sexually and asexually. The showy flowers of many species of the subfamily are pollinated by a wide range of insects including bees , wasps , flies and moths , as well as birds . Both nectar and pollen act as incentives to pollinating species. Vegetative reproduction may be by bulbils or by seeds through apomixis . The dispersal of seeds may occur by water, wind, or by ants attracted by elaiosomes . Scilla Scilla ( / ˈ s ɪ l ə / )
936-412: A sex, only gametophytes do. Gynoecium development and arrangement is important in systematic research and identification of angiosperms , but can be the most challenging of the floral parts to interpret. Unlike (most) animals , plants grow new organs after embryogenesis , including new roots, leaves, and flowers. In the flowering plants, the gynoecium develops in the central region of the flower as
1008-443: A shared basal ovary) —and usually interpreted as modified leaves that bear structures called ovules , inside which egg cells ultimately form. A pistil may consist of one carpel (with its ovary, style and stigma); or it may comprise several carpels joined together to form a single ovary, the whole unit called a pistil. The gynoecium may present as one or more uni-carpellate pistils or as one multi-carpellate pistil. (The number of carpels
1080-460: A similar function to a megasporophyll , but typically includes a stigma, and is fused, with ovules enclosed in the enlarged lower portion, the ovary. In some basal angiosperm lineages, Degeneriaceae and Winteraceae , a carpel begins as a shallow cup where the ovules develop with laminar placentation, on the upper surface of the carpel. The carpel eventually forms a folded, leaf-like structure, not fully sealed at its margins. No style exists, but
1152-400: A stalked, integumented megasporangium (also called the nucellus ). Typically, one cell in the megasporangium undergoes meiosis resulting in one to four megaspores. These develop into a megagametophyte (often called the embryo sac) within the ovule. The megagametophyte typically develops a small number of cells, including two special cells, an egg cell and a binucleate central cell, which are
1224-528: A syncarpous gynoecium has a single style and stigma and a single locule in the ovary, it may be necessary to examine how the ovules are attached. Each carpel will usually have a distinct line of placentation where the ovules are attached. Pistils begin as small primordia on a floral apical meristem, forming later than, and closer to the (floral) apex than sepal, petal and stamen primordia. Morphological and molecular studies of pistil ontogeny reveal that carpels are most likely homologous to leaves. A carpel has
1296-425: A syncarpous gynoecium, the "fused" ovaries of the constituent carpels may be referred to collectively as a single compound ovary. It can be a challenge to determine how many carpels fused to form a syncarpous gynoecium. If the styles and stigmas are distinct, they can usually be counted to determine the number of carpels. Within the compound ovary, the carpels may have distinct locules divided by walls called septa . If
1368-423: A unitary intercalary meristem. Evolutionary developmental biology investigates such developmental processes that arise or change during evolution. If the hypanthium is absent, the flower is hypogynous , and the stamens, petals, and sepals are all attached to the receptacle below the gynoecium. Hypogynous flowers are often referred to as having a superior ovary . This is the typical arrangement in most flowers. If
1440-536: Is apocarpous . If a gynoecium has multiple carpels "fused" into a single structure, it is syncarpous . A syncarpous gynoecium can sometimes appear very much like a monocarpous gynoecium. The degree of connation ("fusion") in a syncarpous gynoecium can vary. The carpels may be "fused" only at their bases, but retain separate styles and stigmas. The carpels may be "fused" entirely, except for retaining separate stigmas. Sometimes (e.g., Apocynaceae ) carpels are fused by their styles or stigmas but possess distinct ovaries. In
1512-637: Is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb -forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae , subfamily Scilloideae . Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows , and seashores throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. A few species are also naturalized in Australasia and North America. Their flowers are usually blue, but white, pink, and purple types are known; most flower in early spring, but
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#17329088385941584-440: Is attributed to Gilbert Thomas Burnett in 1835. When treated as a family, the name Hyacinthaceae is derived from the type genus Hyacinthus , and is usually attributed to August Batsch from ("ex") a 1797 publication by Moritz Borkhausen . The monophyly of Scilloideae is well supported by studies based on molecular data. These studies also give support to the exclusion of Camassia , Chlorogalum and related genera, i.e.
1656-546: Is called the funiculus. Stigmas can vary from long and slender to globe-shaped to feathery. The stigma is the receptive tip of the carpel(s), which receives pollen at pollination and on which the pollen grain germinates . The stigma is adapted to catch and trap pollen, either by combining pollen of visiting insects or by various hairs, flaps, or sculpturings. The style and stigma of the flower are involved in most types of self incompatibility reactions. Self-incompatibility, if present, prevents fertilization by pollen from
1728-448: Is denoted by terms such as tricarpellate (three carpels).) Carpels are thought to be phylogenetically derived from ovule-bearing leaves or leaf homologues ( megasporophylls ), which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules. This structure is typically rolled and fused along the margin. Although many flowers satisfy the above definition of a carpel, there are also flowers that do not have carpels because in these flowers
1800-739: Is found only in parts of western South America . Other genera occur in Africa south of the Sahara and parts of the Arabian Peninsula , on both sides of the Mediterranean , further north in Europe through the Middle East to India , and on the east coast of Asia, in China , Korea and Japan . Scilloideae are found in temperate to tropical habitats, but are more diverse in areas of Mediterranean climate (i.e., with
1872-446: Is monosulcate (having a linear furrow). Gynoecium : superior ovary, tricarpelate, connate and trilocular. Single stigma, capitate to 3-lobed. May contain from one to several ovules in each locule . They have nectaries at the septa of the ovaries. Fruit : dehiscence loculicidal. Seed : Seed morphology is diverse, from globular to flattened, and occasionally aril . The seed coat usually contains phytomelan (phytomelanin), one of
1944-517: Is particularly frequent in the rose family and saxifrages . Occasionally, the gynoecium is born on a stalk, called the gynophore , as in Isomeris arborea . Within the ovary, each ovule is born by a placenta or arises as a continuation of the floral apex. The placentas often occur in distinct lines called lines of placentation . In monocarpous or apocarpous gynoecia, there is typically a single line of placentation in each ovary. In syncarpous gynoecia,
2016-572: Is the second largest tribe. Its species have leaves with pustules or spots, rounded seeds and contain homoisoflavanones . The tribe can in turn be divided into three clades (subtribes): Some genera that were formerly placed within the Scillioideae (as Hyacinthaceae), e.g., Chlorogalum and Camassia , are currently placed in the Agavoideae. Both historically and as of March 2013, there has been "considerable disagreement over generic limits" in
2088-642: The Asparagales order. They have also been included in the family Liliaceae . Roots: contractile and mucilaginous. Leaves: fleshy and mucilaginous arranged in a basal rosette, alternate and spiral, simple, margin entire, with parallel venation, sheathing at the base, without stipules and hair simple. Flowers: arranged in scapiflorous inflorescences (in racemes, in spikes, and in heads). The peduncles are articulated. The flowers are hermaphroditic , actinomorphic , often showy. Perianths : six tepals divided into two whorls, free or joined ( connate ). When joined,
2160-625: The Mediterranean Basin and South Africa . Others are found in Central Asia , the Far East and South America . Morphologically the subfamily is characterised by having 6 tepals and 6 stamens with a superior ovary , a characteristic which placed them within the older order of Liliales in many older classification systems, such as the Cronquist system , but they now separate from them within
2232-460: The botanical authority , Scilla L. . In Scilla , he included six plants previously considered as Hyacinthus . For instance, he renamed Clusius' Hyacinthus stellatus cinerei coloris as Scilla italica ( Hyacinthoides italica in modern systems) and Hyacinthus stellatus peruanus as Scilla peruviana , while Fuchs' Hyacinthus caeruleus mas minor , he named Scilla bifolia . In total, Linnaeus listed eight species of Scilla , from
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2304-409: The gametes involved in double fertilization . The central cell, once fertilized by a sperm cell from the pollen becomes the first cell of the endosperm , and the egg cell once fertilized become the zygote that develops into the embryo . The gap in the integuments through which the pollen tube enters to deliver sperm to the egg is called the micropyle . The stalk attaching the ovule to the placenta
2376-483: The order Liliales , for instance as the tribe Hyacintheae of the family Liliaceae . The availability of molecular phylogenetic methods in taxonomic classification led to major realignments of several related monocot orders, particularly with the adoption of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system. Significantly, hyacinth -like plants including Scilla were initially placed in a separate family,
2448-492: The 29 families into which the Asparagales were divided was the Hyacinthaceae. With further work it was evident that these 29 families, some of which had few genera, could be grouped into larger clades. The APG II system of 2003 was a compromise. It divided the Asparagales into 14 broadly defined families, while allowing an alternative system in which some of the larger families could be replaced by smaller ones. The Hyacinthaceae
2520-546: The Hyacinthaceae in the order Asparagales , specifically in the very large subfamily Hyacinthoideae. Since 2009, the Hyacintheae, including Scilla , have been considered as Scilloideae , a subfamily of the family Asparagaceae . There they are placed as one of about 21 genera in the subtribe Hyacinthinae within tribe Hyacintheae. The most closely related genera to Scilla were Muscari Mill. and Chionodoxa Boiss . For some time, Chionodoxa had been considered
2592-566: The Hyacinthaceae into the subfamilies Hyacinthoideae, Ornithogaloideae, Oziroeoideae and Urgineoideae continued to be supported by ongoing studies. (They further divided the subfamilies Hyacinthoideae and Ornithogaloideae into tribes.) A part of reducing the Hyacinthaceae to the subfamily Scilloideae, Chase et al. (2009) suggested dividing it into four tribes, corresponding to Pfosser and Speta's four subfamilies: Hyacintheae Dumort. , Ornithogaleae Rouy , Oziroëeae M.W.Chase, Reveal & M.F.Fay and Urgineeae Rouy . The possible relationship of
2664-557: The Liliaceae s.l. into two tribes, Lilieaoe and Scilleae. In the twentieth century, Fritsch proposed the division of Liliaceae s.l. into smaller more homogeneous families. In the 1930s the Viennese school elevated Engler's tribes to subfamilies. They questioned the inclusion of such different groups as Lilioideae and Scilloideae within the same family, and even Scilloideae was considered to be composed of at least three groups. By 1969, Huber
2736-528: The Mediterranean through to India. The seeds are flattened and winged with the head barely attached to the endosperm . The basic chromosome numbers are n = 6, 7 and 10. Depending on the source, the tribe may include the genera Bowiea , Drimia (including Urginea ), Schizobasis (sometimes included in Drimia ) and Fusifilum (also sometimes included in Drimia ). In terms of the number of species, this
2808-407: The Mediterranean, Europe and southwest Asia, and placed the genus in the grouping Hexandria Monogynia (6 stamens , 1 pistil ) within his system of sexual classification ( systema sexuale ). Since he listed S. maritima (which had previously been known as scilla officinale) first, this was considered the type species . On the basis that the seed morphology distinguished this species from all
2880-484: The Middle East. A few species are also widely naturalized, particularly in Australia, New Zealand and North America. Many Scilla species, notably S. siberica and members of section Chionodoxa , are grown in gardens for their attractive early spring flowers. Gynoecium The term gynoecium is also used by botanists to refer to a cluster of archegonia and any associated modified leaves or stems present on
2952-597: The Urgineoideae and cardenolids in Ornithogaloideae. Even Linnaean genera such as Hyacinthus , Scilla and Ornithoglum proved heterogeneous and characters useful in other families failed to define satisfactory taxa. Modern classification systems for plants are largely derived from molecular phylogenetic analysis . The initial molecular analysis of the Liliaceae s.l. was based on the Dahlgren system, as for example in
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3024-426: The defining characteristics of the order, a black pigment present in the seed coat, creating a dark crust. Chromosomes : Chromosome size varies widely, from 1.2 to 18 μm in length, karyotype bimodal or trimodal. The basic chromosome number is also very variable (X = 2, 6, 7, 10, 15, 17, etc.). When treated as a subfamily, the name Scilloideae is derived from the generic name of the type genus , Scilla , and
3096-469: The different tissues that produce the parts of the gynoecium including the pistil, carpels, ovary, and ovules; the carpel margin meristem (arising from the carpel primordium ) produces the ovules , ovary septum, and the transmitting track, and plays a role in fusing the apical margins of carpels. The gynoecium may consist of one or more separate pistils. A pistil typically consists of an expanded basal portion called an ovary , an elongated section called
3168-476: The evolution of flowering plants. Some processes that have been considered congenital (phylogenetic) fusions appear to be non-fusion processes such as, for example, the de novo formation of intercalary growth in a ring zone at or below the base of primordia. Therefore, "it is now increasingly acknowledged that the term 'fusion,' as applied to phylogeny (as in 'congenital fusion') is ill-advised." Basal angiosperm groups tend to have carpels arranged spirally around
3240-427: The family only superficially resembles the modern version, but did include Hyacinthus and Lachenalia . The group was reduced to a tribe by Endlicher in 1836, and included Camassia . In 1866 Salisbury redistributed the genera into several families. In the 1870s, Baker used tribes to divide up the Liliaceae s.l. . introducing the Hyacintheae, Scilleae, Massonieae, and Chlorogaleae. In 1887 Engler divided
3312-491: The former Hyacinthaceae subfamily Chlorogaloideae, now placed in the subfamily Agavoideae . The exact position of the Scilloideae within the broadly defined Asparagaceae is less clear. One possible phylogeny for the seven subfamilies recognised within the family is shown below. Aphyllanthoideae Agavoideae Brodiaeoideae Scilloideae Lomandroideae Asparagoideae Nolinoideae Although generally agreeing on
3384-452: The four tribes is represented in the following cladogram , which has, however, only "moderate" statistical support. Oziroëeae Ornithogaleae Urgineeae Pseudoprospero Massoniinae Hyacinthinae The exact boundaries between genera within these tribes remains controversial; the situation has been described as being in a "state of flux". Species are found only in western South America. They have flowers with stamens which are joined to
3456-495: The hypanthium is present up to the base of the style(s), the flower is epigynous . In an epigynous flower, the stamens, petals, and sepals are attached to the hypanthium at the top of the ovary or, occasionally, the hypanthium may extend beyond the top of the ovary. Epigynous flowers are often referred to as having an inferior ovary . Plant families with epigynous flowers include orchids , asters , and evening primroses . Between these two extremes are perigynous flowers, in which
3528-422: The lilioid monocots in search of monophyly , but in practice he was unsuccessful. His major contribution was to split the Liliaceae into two families, the true Liliaceae, Liliaceae sensu stricto , and the Hyacinthaceae (families which are now placed in separate orders, Liliales and Asparagales ). Splitting off the Hyacinthaceae from the Liliaceae was originally suggested by Batsch in 1786. Batsch's version of
3600-436: The lines of placentation can be regularly spaced along the wall of the ovary ( parietal placentation ), or near the center of the ovary. In the latter case, separate terms are used depending on whether or not the ovary is divided into separate locules. If the ovary is divided, with the ovules born on a line of placentation at the inner angle of each locule, this is axile placentation . An ovary with free central placentation , on
3672-564: The main division of the Asparagaceae into two clades, studies have produced slightly different relationships among the Agavoideae, Aphyllanthoideae, Brodiaeoideae and Scilloideae. For example, Seberg et al. (2012) present analyses based on parsimony and on maximum likelihood. In the first, the Scilloideae are sister to the Agavoideae; in the second, they are sister to the Brodiaeoideae. Detailed historical accounts of taxonomic issues relating to
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#17329088385943744-510: The modern subfamily Scilloideae have been provided by Pfosser & Speta (1999) and Chase et al. (2009). The lilioid monocots have long created classification problems. At one extreme, e.g. in the Cronquist system of 1968, they have been regarded as one large family ( Liliaceae sensu lato ). At the other extreme, e.g. in the Dahlgren system of 1985, they have been divided between orders and split into many often small families. Dahlgren divided
3816-437: The narrower families of APG II; for example, Seberg et al. say that it "remains a moot point whether the difficult-to-recognize bracketed families of APG II are a worse or a better choice than the equally difficult-to-recognize subfamilies of APG III", and in their analyses of the phylogeny of the Asparagales they continue to use families such as Hyacinthaceae. In 1990, Pfosser and Speta stated that their earlier classification of
3888-465: The other Linnean Scilla , Steinheil reclassified it as a member of a novel genus, Urginea , now submerged in Drimia as Drimia maritima . Later, De Jussieu (1789), using a natural system , the relative value of plant characteristics, rather than purely sexual ones, and a hierarchical system of ranks, grouped Scilla into a "family" which he called Asphodeli , along with Hyacinthus and Allium . Jaume-Saint-Hilaire (1805), while maintaining
3960-438: The other hand, consists of a single compartment without septae and the ovules are attached to a central column that arises directly from the floral apex (axis). In some cases a single ovule is attached to the bottom or top of the locule ( basal or apical placentation , respectively). In flowering plants, the ovule (from Latin ovulum meaning small egg) is a complex structure born inside ovaries. The ovule initially consists of
4032-444: The ovule(s), although enclosed, are borne directly on the floral apex. Therefore, the carpel has been redefined as an appendage that encloses ovule(s) and may or may not bear them. However, the most unobjectionable definition of the carpel is simply that of an appendage that encloses an ovule or ovules. If a gynoecium has a single carpel, it is called monocarpous . If a gynoecium has multiple, distinct (free, unfused) carpels, it
4104-460: The perianth forms a tubular bell. The tepals are imbricate and petaloid . The corolla may be white, yellow, violet, blue, brown and even black (see images). Androecium : composed of 6 stamens (exceptionally 3, as in Albuca , for example), with the filaments free or adnate to the tube, often appendiculate. The anthers are dorsifixed and pollen dehiscence occurs by longitudinal openings. The pollen
4176-503: The petals, rounded seeds and the embryo as long as the seed. The basic chromosome numbers are n = 15, 17. The tribe contains only the genus Oziroë . In terms of the number of species, this is the largest tribe. Its species are distributed in Europe, western Asia and Africa. They have flowers with three stamens which have flattened filaments. Their seeds are flattened and angular. The basic chromosome numbers range from n = 2 to n = 10. In
4248-467: The remainder. The precise number of Scilla species in the genus depends on which proposals to split the genus are accepted. In addition to creating two sections, some authorities have split the genus into a number of smaller genera. For instance, particularly the Eurasian species have been moved to genera such as Othocallis Salisb. , so that Scilla siberica would become Othocallis siberica , leaving
4320-474: The remaining Scilloideae, with different sources listing from 15 to 45 genera for sub-Saharan Africa alone. The total number of genera has been given as anything between about 30 (with about 500–700 species) and 70 (with about 1000 species). Unless otherwise noted, the list below is based on genera accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as in the family Asparagaceae (with synonyms from
4392-615: The same affiliation, recognized three species S. maritima , S. amoena and S. italica . By 1853, Lindley had created a very large order, the Liliaceae , in which Scilla and related genera formed one of eleven suborders, as Scilleae. This included many genera, including Camassia and Ornithogalum . Treatments of Scilla in the nineteenth century include those of Dumortier (1827), Salisbury (1796, 1866) and Baker (1873), with rather different approaches. Historically, Scilla and related genera were placed with lily -like plants in
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#17329088385944464-571: The same source), with assignments to the subfamily Scilloideae based on the Germplasm Resources Information Network. As noted above, other sources divide up some of these genera, creating a significantly larger number; thus the genus Ornithogalum as conceived by Manning et al. (2009) is divided by Martínez-Azorín et al. (2011) into a more narrowly circumscribed Ornithogalum plus an additional 11 genera. Scilloideae are widely but discontinuously distributed. The genus Oziroe
4536-459: The same time, Chase et al. provided subfamilies to replace the alternative narrowly defined families of APG II. The Hyacinthaceae became the subfamily Scilloideae of the family Asparagaceae. Many sources have adopted the APG III system; for example, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families places genera such as Hyacinthus only in the broadly defined Asparagaceae. Other sources prefer to retain
4608-562: The scientific genus name Scilla and the common word squill derive, via Middle English and French, from the Latin scilla and Greek σκίλλα skilla words for the plants. The common name squill has been applied to a number of other similar taxa such as Drimia . Native to woodlands, subalpine meadows , and seashores throughout Europe (especially the Mediterranean), Africa (especially South Africa), Eurasia (especially southwest Asia) and
4680-715: The separate family Hyacinthaceae, as it is by many researchers and was in earlier APG systems. Determining the boundaries between genera within the Scilloideae is an active area of research. The number of genera varies widely from source to source, from about 30 to about 70. The situation has been described as being in a "state of flux". The subfamily contains many popular spring-flowering garden bulbs, such as hyacinths ( Hyacinthus ), grape hyacinths ( Muscari ), bluebells ( Hyacinthoides ) and squills ( Scilla ). Other members are summer- and autumn-flowering, including Galtonia and Eucomis ('pineapple lilies'). Most are native to Mediterranean climate zones and neighboring areas in
4752-526: The treatment by Manning et al. (2009) and Stevens at the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website , the tribe contains four genera, Albuca (about 110–140 species), Dipcadi , Ornithogalum (about 160 species, including Galtonia and Neopatersonia ) and Pseudogaltonia . By contrast, Martínez-Azorín et al. (2011) divide the tribe into 19 genera. Species within this tribe contain bufadienolides and are distributed mainly in Africa, Madagascar, and
4824-407: The wall of the inferior ovary results from the "congenital" fusion of dorsal carpel flanks and the floral axis does not correspond to the ontogenetic processes that can actually be observed. All that can be seen is an intercalary growth in a broad circular zone that changes the shape of the floral axis (receptacle)." And what happened during evolution is not a phylogenetic fusion but the formation of
4896-446: The work by Chase et al. in 1995. When it was discovered that the Dahlgren families were not monophyletic , the tendency was to create new families out of each identified clade , as in the first Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system of 1998, the APG system . This placed many lilioid families and genera in the order Asparagales (a term derived from Dahlgren, and the largest monocot order). One of
4968-464: Was known for its medicinal properties. Later mentions include pre-Linnaen botanists such as Fuchs (1542) and Clusius (1601), who considered many closely related plants to be types of Hyacinthus . The genus Scilla has a long and complicated history in terms of its classification, circumscription and subdivision, and is not fully resolved. The genus Scilla was first formally described by Linnaeus in 1753, and hence bears his name as
5040-467: Was observed that Chionodoxa was capable of hybridization with Scilla bifolia . It was therefore proposed that Chionodoxa be considered an obsolete genus and be submerged within Scilla . Subsequently, it was proposed that the species of Scilla be split into two sections , Chionodoxa that would include those taxa previously considered to belong in the genus Chionodoxa , and Scilla which would contain
5112-543: Was one of these optional smaller families, which could alternatively be sunk into a broadly defined Asparagaceae. This compromise approach was abandoned in the APG III system of 2009, which allowed only the broader families. The paper presenting the system states "The area around Asparagaceae is difficult from the standpoint of circumscription. Although Asparagaceae s.l. are heterogeneous and poorly characterized, Asparagaceae s.s., Agavaceae, Laxmanniaceae, Ruscaceae and even Hyacinthaceae have few if any distinctive features." At
5184-417: Was recognizing the Scilloideae as the family Hyacinthaceae, and dividing it into tribes. How many tribes were recognised and how the genera were distributed within those tribes depended on the diagnostic characters chosen. Huber used seeds, while Schulze in 1980 used pollen. Morphology and chromosome analysis were supplemented by chemotaxonomy, due to the presence of cardiac steroids, such as the bufadienolids in
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