liliaceæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. An order of monocotyledonous plants, characterized by the regular symmetrical and almost always hexandrous flowers, with a non-glumaceous perianth which is free from the generally three-celled ovary. There are, with one exception, six stamens, one before each division of the perianth. The fruit is a pod or berry containing from few to many seeds having a small embryo in copious albumen. It is a large order dispersed widely round the world, and containing about 2,300 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees. Many genera, as Lilium, Tulipa, Hyacinthus, furnish beautiful garden-flowers; some, as Allium, yield esculent bulbs; a few, as Aloë, supply important medicines; and Phormium and a few others yield a textile fiber.