Asparagaceae - Asparagus family

Suffrutices or shrubs, with annual or perennial stems, sometimes scrambling or climbing and often spiny. Rhizome typically covered with persistent erect cataphylls; tubers often present. Leaves much reduced, bract-like with a spiny or soft spur; leaf-like cladodes solitary or fascicled, linear to ovate, persistent or deciduous. Peduncles or pedicels articulated. Flowers solitary, fascicled or racemose, bisexual, hypogynous. Perianth segments in 2 whorls of 3, similar, free or (in asparagoides) fused into a tube below. Stamens 6. Ovary superior, 3-locular, with 2-12 axile ovules per loculus. Fruit usually a spherical or ovoid berry, sometimes a nutlet, the perianth segments often persisting below. Seeds 1-several, spherical, black.

Comment: According to more recent thinking the family Asparagaceae has been greatly expanded to include many genera formerly placed in separate families. As some of these family concepts were quite distinct and often contained well-known horticultural genera and species, we have for now maintained this more traditional treatment:
- subfamily Agavoideae = family Agavaceae, Anthericaceae, Behniaceae and family Hesperocallidaceae
- subfamily Aphyllanthoideae = family Aphyllanthaceae
- subfamily Asparagoideae = family Asparagaceae sensu stricto (as treated here
- subfamily Brodiaeoideae = family Themidaceae
- subfamily Lomandroideae = family Laxmanniaceae
- subfamily Nolinoideae = family Dracaenaceae, Eriospermaceae, Convallariaceae, Nolinaceae and Ruscaceae
- subfamily Scilloideae = family Hyacinthaceae.

Worldwide: 6 genera and 150 species, Old World (excluding Australia), South America, especially arid zones.

Zimbabwe: 1 cultivated genus and 5 cultivated taxa.