SYSTEMATIC STUDIES IN THE FAMILY LILIACEAE FROM BANGLADESH

The family Liliaceae A.L. de Jussieu has been revised for Bangladesh and a total of 34 species with one variant under 16 genera have been recorded. Artificial dichotomous keys to the genera and species have been given. Descriptions have been provided for each taxon, and local names, flowering and fruiting periods have been added wherever available. Out of 34 species, 16 species are native/naturalized and 18 species, including 1 variant, are exotic. Four genera, ten species and one variant have been documented for the first time in Bangladesh. Introduction Liliaceae A.L. de Jussieu, the Lily family, is a moderately large family consisting of about 280 genera and nearly 4000 species, widespread throughout the world, but most abundant and varied in fairly dry, temperate to subtropical regions. The family is characterized by the following diagnostic characters: i) Perennial or annual herbs, rarely shrubs, with starchy rhizome, bulb or corm; ii) Leaves simple, alternate or less often opposite or whorled, often all basal; iii) Flowers in a raceme, spike, panicle or involucrate cymose umbel, sometimes solitary or paired in the axils of the leaves; iv) Tepals 6-8, usually in 2 similar petaloid cycles, stamens usually as many as the tepals; v) Carpels 3 (rarely 2 or 4), united, ovary superior or inferior with axile or basal placentation; vi) Fruit a loculicidal or septicidal capsule, less often a berry, seeds often flat (Cronquist 1981). Many taxonomists, viz. Bentham and Hooker (1862-1883), Engler and Prantl (18871915), Bessey (1915), Rendle (1925), and Hutchinson (1934) described Amaryllidaceae (ovary inferior) and Liliaceae (ovary superior) separately under the same order or under separate orders mainly on the basis of ovary position, but other characters are more or less the same. So it is more logical to keep both the families under a single larger family as done by Cronquist (1981) and Takhtajan (1980). The same treatment is followed here. Species of this family are much important for economic uses. Most of the species are poisonous for cattle, but there are many species in this family which are commercially useful for their medicinal value. Corresponding author. E-mail: binidu@yahoo.com 116 AFROZ AND HASSAN A general account of Liliaceae (including Amaryllidaceae) occurring in Indian subcontinent was given by Hooker (1892) and for the then Bengal by Prain (1903). In the present context, these accounts are not up to date regarding the number of taxa as well as nomenclature. After Hooker and Prain's publications many floras on the smaller areas of present Bangladesh have been published where the authors included Liliaceae and Amaryllidaceae either separately or jointly under Liliaceae, viz. Heinig (1925), Cowan (1926), Raizada (1941), Datta and Mitra (1953), Sinclair (1955), Mia and Khan (1995), Uddin et al. (1998), Rahman (2004), and Uddin and Hassan (2004). However, there has been no revisionary work on Liliaceae for Bangladesh. Materials and Methods The present work is mainly based on the fresh materials collected by the first author. The work is also supplemented by the herbarium specimens housed at the Dhaka University Herbarium (DUH) and Bangladesh National Herbarium (DACB). The germplasm of most of the taxa have been collected and planted in the experimental plots of the Dhaka University Botanical Garden for further studies. The collected specimens were identified consulting standard literature like Hooker (1892), Jackson (1895), Prain (1903), Dassanayake and Clayton (1981), and Deb (1983), and comparing with herbarium specimens available both in the DUH and DACB. The present work is intended to record all the species growing all over Bangladesh in the wild and also cultivated in the garden and in the field and to make a revision of the family for the country. Short descriptions, important synonyms, precise localities and local names of each species are given wherever available along with the correct botanical names. Flowering and fruiting periods (Fl. & Fr.) are also noted. The genera and species are arranged alphabetically. Results and Discussion The systematic studies in the family Liliaceae from Bangladesh resulted in the confirmation of 34 species and a variant under 16 genera, whereas Hooker (1892) reported only 17 species under 10 genera and Prain (1903) mentioned 14 species under 11 genera in greater Liliaceae for the present Bangladesh area. For easy identification, dichotomous keys to the genera and also to the species have been constructed on the basis of easily recognizable characters. Four genera (Haemanthus, Hippeastrum, Proiphys and Eucharis), eleven species (Asparagus densiflorus, A. officinalis, A. setaceus, Crinum jagus, Eucharis grandiflora, Haemanthus multiflorus, Hippeastrum × johnsonii, Proiphys amboinensis, Zephyranthes atamasco, Z. candida, and Z. grandiflora), and one variant of Crinum asiaticum, most of which are planted in gardens, have been documented for the first time in Bangladesh. SYSTEMATIC STUDIES IN THE FAMILY LILIACEAE FROM BANGLADESH 117 Key to genera 1. Inflorescence surrounded by involucral bracts or spathes 2 Inflorescence not surrounded by involucral bracts 9 2. Scape 1-flowered Zephyranthes Scape more than 1-flowered 3 3. Leaves radical, scapose Allium Leaves not scapose, usually strap shaped 4 4. Scape hollow, arising with or just after the leaves Hippeastrum Scape solid 5 5. Flowers without staminal corona 6 Flowers with staminal corona 7 6. Leaves usually evergreen Crinum Leaves appearing along with or after the appearance of scape Haemanthus 7. Leaves without petiole; corona soft Pancratium Leaves with petiole; corona hard and waxy 8 8. Corona 6-partite; scape more than 10-flowered Proiphys Corona united; scape up to 10-flowered Eucharis 9. Leaves reduced to minute scales, often spinescent, bearing in their axils tufts of leaf-like cladodes Asparagus Leaves simple 10 10. Inflorescence branched Hemerocallis Inflorescence unbranched 11 11. Fruit indehiscent 12 Fruit dehiscent 13 12. Perianth tube produced above the ovary; stamens perigynous Curculigo Perianth tube not produced above the ovary; stamens epigynous Molineria 13. Aerial annual stem climbing, leafy; leaves with tendril-like tips Gloriosa Aerial annual stem or scape erect, leafless 14 14. Inflorescence 1 or 2-flowered Hypoxis Inflorescence many-flowered 15 15. Perianth campanulate; seeds many Urginea Perianth not campanulate; seed usually 1 Asphodelus 118 AFROZ AND HASSAN Systematic enumeration of taxa Allium [Tourn.] Linn., Syst. ed. 1 (1735). Key to species 1. Leaves fistular A. cepa Leaves flat 2 2. Bulb long, cylindric, simple; heads bearing flowers only A. tuberosum Bulb short, compound; heads bearing both flowers and bulbils A. sativum 1. Allium cepa L., Sp. Pl. ed. 1: 300 (1753). Local name: Peyaj. An annual herb. Leaves fistular, heads dense. Flowers white with mid-green line in tepals. Fruit a capsule. Seeds compressed, black. Fl. & Fr.: February-June. Cultivated. Specimens examined: Dhaka: Dhaka University Botanical Garden, 23.4.1940, Atul (DUH); 11.1.2007, Sumona 6 (DUH); 19.3.2007, Sumona 9 (DUH). 2. Allium sativum L., Sp. Pl. 1: 296 (1753). Local name: Rashun. An erect, annual herb. Leaves flat, heads bearing both flowers and bulbils. Flowers greenish-white. Fruits seedless. Fl. & Fr.: February-April. Cultivated. Specimen examined: Munsigonj: Shirajdikhan, 23.3.2008, Sumona 48 (DUH). 3. Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng., Syst. 2: 38 (1825). A. uliginosum G. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 6: 60 (1827). Local name: Banga gandina. An erect, annual herb. Leaves flat, heads bearing only flowers. Flowers white or pink. Fruits obcordate. Fl. & Fr.: June-August. Cultivated. Specimen examined: Maulvi Bazar: Srimangal (Khasia Palli), 25.8.1998, M. Yusuf 1062 (BCSIR Lab.). Asparagus Tourn. ex Linn., Syst. ed. 1 (1735). Key to species 1. Branchlets and cladodes arranged like a fern frond 2 Branchlets and cladodes not arranged like a fern frond 3 2. Inflorescence 5-9 flowered; cladodes 2-9 per node A. densiflorus Inflorescence 1-4 flowered; cladodes 10-15 per node A. setaceus 3. Stem not terete, rather triquetrous A. acerosus Stem terete 4 4. Flowers pendulous, solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils A. officinalis Flowers not pendulous, more than 2 flowers cluster in the leaf axils 5 SYSTEMATIC STUDIES IN THE FAMILY LILIACEAE FROM BANGLADESH 119 5. Spines straight A. adscendens Spines reflexed A. racemosus 4. Asparagus acerosus Roxb., Fl. Ind. 2: 150 (1832). Asparagopsis acerosa Kunth, Enum. Pl. 5: 102 (1850). Local name: Shatamuli. A perennial, sub-scandent undershrub. Stem triquetrous. Flowers white. Fruit a berry, 1-seeded. Fl. & Fr.: November-March. Native/naturalized. Specimens examined: Tangail: Madhupur, 29.6.1969, Alo Rani 306 (DUH); Madhupur, 29.6.1969, Asiya 118 (DUH); Madhupur, 29.6.1969, Panna 115 (DUH); Madhupur, 22.12.1982, Mia 892 (DACB); Madhupur, 28.2.1987, Huq et al. 8215 (DACB). 5. Asparagus adscendens Roxb., Fl. Ind. 2: 153 (1832). Asparagopsis adscendens Kunth, Enum. Pl. 5: 102 (1850). Local name: Shatamuli. A dioecious, evergreen shrub with white tuberous roots. Stem terete, spines straight. Fruit a berry, 1-seeded. Native/naturalized. Specimen examined: Gazipur: Sal forest, 10.12.1944, Badal Singh (DUH). 6. Asparagus densiflorus (Kunth) J.P. Jessop, Bothalia 9: 51 (1966). Asparagopsis densiflora Kunth, Enum. Pl. 5: 96 (1850); Asparagus sprengeri Regel, Act. Hort. Petrop. 11: 302 (1890); Protasparagus densiflorus (Kunth) A.A. Oberm., Fl. South Afr. 5(3): 49 (1992). An evergreen, perennial herb with more or less tuberous roots. Flowers greenishwhite with orange anthers. Fruit a bright-red berry, 3-seeded. Fl. & Fr.: February-April. Cultivated. Specimens examined: Dhaka: Baldha Garden, 23.3.2007, Sumona 11 (DUH); Baldha Garden 26.4.2007, Sumona 23 (DUH). 7. Asparagus officinalis L., Sp. Pl.: 313 (1753). A dioecious, erect, perennial herb with a robust tuberous rhizome. Flowers white or pink.


Introduction
Liliaceae A.L. de Jussieu, the Lily family, is a moderately large family consisting of about 280 genera and nearly 4000 species, widespread throughout the world, but most abundant and varied in fairly dry, temperate to subtropical regions.The family is characterized by the following diagnostic characters: i) Perennial or annual herbs, rarely shrubs, with starchy rhizome, bulb or corm; ii) Leaves simple, alternate or less often opposite or whorled, often all basal; iii) Flowers in a raceme, spike, panicle or involucrate cymose umbel, sometimes solitary or paired in the axils of the leaves; iv) Tepals 6-8, usually in 2 similar petaloid cycles, stamens usually as many as the tepals; v) Carpels 3 (rarely 2 or 4), united, ovary superior or inferior with axile or basal placentation; vi) Fruit a loculicidal or septicidal capsule, less often a berry, seeds often flat (Cronquist 1981).
Many taxonomists, viz.Bentham andHooker (1862-1883), Engler andPrantl (1887-1915), Bessey (1915), Rendle (1925), and Hutchinson (1934) described Amaryllidaceae (ovary inferior) and Liliaceae (ovary superior) separately under the same order or under separate orders mainly on the basis of ovary position, but other characters are more or less the same.So it is more logical to keep both the families under a single larger family as done by Cronquist (1981) and Takhtajan (1980).The same treatment is followed here.
Species of this family are much important for economic uses.Most of the species are poisonous for cattle, but there are many species in this family which are commercially useful for their medicinal value.
A general account of Liliaceae (including Amaryllidaceae) occurring in Indian subcontinent was given by Hooker (1892) and for the then Bengal by Prain (1903).In the present context, these accounts are not up to date regarding the number of taxa as well as nomenclature.After Hooker and Prain's publications many floras on the smaller areas of present Bangladesh have been published where the authors included Liliaceae and Amaryllidaceae either separately or jointly under Liliaceae, viz.Heinig (1925), Cowan (1926), Raizada (1941), Datta and Mitra (1953), Sinclair (1955), Mia and Khan (1995), Uddin et al. (1998), Rahman (2004), and Uddin and Hassan (2004).However, there has been no revisionary work on Liliaceae for Bangladesh.

Materials and Methods
The present work is mainly based on the fresh materials collected by the first author.The work is also supplemented by the herbarium specimens housed at the Dhaka University Herbarium (DUH) and Bangladesh National Herbarium (DACB).The germplasm of most of the taxa have been collected and planted in the experimental plots of the Dhaka University Botanical Garden for further studies.
The present work is intended to record all the species growing all over Bangladesh in the wild and also cultivated in the garden and in the field and to make a revision of the family for the country.Short descriptions, important synonyms, precise localities and local names of each species are given wherever available along with the correct botanical names.Flowering and fruiting periods (Fl. & Fr.) are also noted.The genera and species are arranged alphabetically.