Flora of New Zealand Series

Fls bisexual or rarely unisexual, actinomorphic, us. in racemes or panicles, sts solitary. Per. mostly petaloid, with or without tube; tepals us. 6 in 2 very similar whorls. Stamens us. 6, hypogynous or adnate to tepals; anther 2-locular, us. opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior or shortly adnate to per.-tube, mostly 3-locular with axile placentae, rarely 1-locular; style entire or divided, rarely styles free; stigmas us. 3, or if single 3-lobed; ovules us. ∞ and 2-seriate in each loculus, rarely solitary. Fr. a loculicidal or septicidal capsule or a berry. Herbs, mostly perennial, rarely softly woody shrubs. Roots from rhizome, corm or bulb, sts tuberous. Stem erect or climbing. Lvs often clustered near base. Worldwide, of some 175 genera. The 8 N.Z. genera predominantly Southern Hemisphere, none endemic.

Fig. 5. LILIACEAE. Arthropodium : stamens of A. cirratum viewed from inside, that at right with anther-tails freed from filament. Dianella : stamen of D. nigra. Collospermum : scale from abaxial leaf-surface of C. microspermum (after Skottsberg). © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X33]

Fig. 6. LILIACEAE. Bulbinella modesta : storage roots, × ¼. Arthropodium candidum : tuber, × 1½. Iphigenia novae-zelandiae : corms, new and old, enclosed in papery sheaths, × 1½. Herpolirion novae-zelandiae : underground stems connecting leafy tufts, × 1. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X34]