Leafy-stemmed herbs (some exotic genera scapose), with rootstocks or rarely with bulbs, the leaves broad or grass-like, parallel-veined, the veins often connected by transverse veinlets. Flowers perfect, polygamous, or dioecious, regular, racemose, panicled or solitary. Perianth of 6 separate or nearly separate, usually persistent segments. Stamens 6, borne on the bases of the perianth-segments. Anthers small, 2-celled, oblong or ovate, or confluently 1-celled and cordate or reniform, mostly versatile and extrorsely dehiscent (introrse in Tofieldia, Triantha and Abama). Ovary 3-celled, superior or rarely partly inferior; ovules few or numerous in each cavity, anatropous or amphitropous. Styles 3, distinct or nearly so. Fruit a capsule with septicidal dehiscence (loculicidal in Abama). Seeds commonly tailed or appendaged. Embryo small, in usually copious endosperm.

About 40 genera and 145 species, widely distributed.

Anthers oblong or ovate, 2-celled.

Anthers introrsely dehiscent.

Capsule septicidal; flowers involucrate by 3 bractlets.

Inflorescence centripetal; seeds unappendaged.

1.

To fieldia.

Inflorescence centrifugal; seeds appendaged.

2.

Triantha.

Capsule loculicidal: flowers not involucrate.

3.

Abama.

Anthers extrorsely dehiscent.

Flowers perfect.

Leaves basal, oblanceolate; seeds numerous.

4.

Xerophyllum.

Stem very leafy; leaves linear; seeds few.

5.

Helonias.

Flowers dioecious; stem leafy.

6.

Chamaelirium.

Anthers cordate or reniform, confluently 1-celled.

Plants glabrous.

Perianth-segments not gland-bearing.

Flowers perfect; perianth-segments obtuse.

7.

Chrosperma.

Flowers polygamous; perianth-segments acuminate.

8.

Stenanthium.

Perianth-segments bearing 1 or 2 glands, or a spot.

Plant with a thick horizontal rootstock; perianth-segments with 2 glands.

9.

Zygadenus.

Plants bulbous, or with short erect rootstocks; perianth-segments with 1 gland.

Flowers perfect; bulbs membranous-coated.

Ovary partly inferior; gland obcordate.

10.

Anticlea.

Ovary wholly superior; gland obovate or half-orbicular.

11.

Toxicoscordion.

Flowers polygamous; rootstocks fibrous-coated.

12.

Oceanoros.

Stem and inflorescence pubescent.

Perianth-segments distinctly clawed, glandless.

13.

Melanthium.

Perianth-segments not clawed or very short-clawed, 2-glandular.

14.

Veratrum.