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Amaryllis
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Lily Family (monocot) -- Liliaceae

Family Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Sepals	3 – which look like petals [see Fig. 1 (large )]
Petals	3 [see Fig. 1 (large )]
Flowers	Either single or arranged as a raceme (i.e., a stalk of flowers where the little flowers are attached directly to the stalk; flowers at the bottom open first) or umbel (i.e., an arrangement of flowers whose stalks - or "pedicels" - originate at the same point). Flowers are not arranged as an umbel with spathaceous bracts (compare to the Amaryllidaceae in which the bracts are present).
Stamens	6 [see Fig. 2 (large )]
Style/Stigma	1 – 3 styles, lobed stigmas [see Fig. 2 (large )]
Ovary	Superior w/3 locules [see Fig. 3 (large )]
Fruit	A capsule (seeds are released from capsule when the sides separate freeing them from their respective locules (i.e., chambers); the name of this type of capsule is loculicidal); fruit can also be a berry (i.e., a fleshy fruit)
Leaves	Usually alternate, simple and linear
Roots	On bulbs, rhizomes, tubers

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lily image placeholder

What’s Going On? (Details of interest to the botanical artist)

Tepals [see Fig. 4 (large )]
Stamen [see Fig. 5 (large )]
Leaves with parallel veins [see Fig. 6 (large )]
Flower bud (absence of spathaceous bracts) [see Fig. 7 (large )]

Landscape & Cut Flower Equivalents

Lilium spp. (Stargazer Lily) [see Fig. 8 (large )]
Tulipa spp. [see Fig. 9 (large )]
Hyacinthus spp.
Calochortus spp.
Fritillaria spp.

Selected Resources for this Family

Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries. 1992. The Visual Dictionary of Plants. DK Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 1-56458-016-4.

Artists will love this great photograph of a dissected lily flower (p. 34).

Glimn-Lacy, Janice and Peter B. Kaufman. 1984. Botany Illustrated. International Thomson Publishing. ISBN: 0-412-07871-6.

Artists can read about the Liliaceae and color the diagrams to become familiar with this family's characteristics; especially helpful is the diagram of a capsule (fruit) (p. 128).

Hickey, Michael and Clive King. 2002. The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-79401-3.

Labeled illustration of a lily bulb (p. 57), tulip bulb (p. 60), tulip whole plant (p. 79) and tulip flower (l.s.) (p. 155).

Hogan, Sean. 2003. Flora: The Gardener's Bible. Global Book Publishing. ISBN: 1-74048-097-X.

Survey of Lilium spp., including the different hybrids (pp. 821-824), many photographs; survey of several Tulipa spp. & hybrids, many photos (pp. 1436-1444); other species in this family have their own listings.

L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University. 1976. Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Reprinted in 2000 by Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN: 0-7607-2116-5.

Descriptions of several species of Lilium (pp. 658-664); descriptive illustrations of seven different species in this family (p. 659); individual genera in this family have their own listing.

Phillips, Roger & Martyn Rix. 2002. The Botanical Garden (Vol. I): Perennials and Annuals. Firefly Books. ISBN: 1-55297-592-4.

Survey of twelve genera in the Liliaceae, includes photos of dissected flowers (pp. 416-429).

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA

Do a Scientific Name search for plants in this family.

Zomlefer, Wendy B. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 0-8078-4470-5.

In-depth description of the Liliaceae, illustrations highlighting the characteristics of this family (pp. 270-273).