Name: Asparagaceae
Meaning of Name:
Asparagaceae, from Mediaeval Latin sparagus, from Ancient Greek ἀσπάραγος (‘aspáragos’, ‘asparagus’) + Latin -āceae (the feminine plural of -āceus, ‘resembling’, a suffix used to form the taxonomic family names of plants, algae, bacteria, and fungi)
Common Name:
The asparagus family
Botanical Information:
The Asparagacease family comprised the single genus Asparagus until the 21st century, which has about 300 species including asparagus ferns (not ferns) and the edible Asparagus officinalis simply called ‘asparagus’.
Close to 120 genera and over 3,000 species have now been brought into Asparagacease following phylogenetic analysis.
Whole families never thought to be related suddenly were, and have been brought in as subfamilies from the early 2000s. As a result, Asparagaceae genera and species are incredibly diverse, and include Agave, Yucca and Hosta as well as Asparagus.
The Asparagaceae family is now defined phylogenetically and thus there is no one physical botanical characteristic which denotes a species belonging to the Asparagaceae family.
As the family was originally named for the genus Asparagus, the photo chosen to illustrate this family shows the flowering ‘fern’ of edible asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) in the foreground (the broad leaves of yacón are in the background).
Image copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
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