''Anthericum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 65 species, rhizomatous

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

, subfamily

Agavoideae Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agaves ...

. It was formerly placed in its own family, Anthericaceae. The species have

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

ous roots, long narrow leaves and branched stems carrying starry white

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s. The members of this

occur mainly in the tropics and

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, but are also represented in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.Altervista Flora Italiana, genere ''Anthericum''
/ref> The generic name ''Anthericum'' is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word ανθερικος (''antherikos''), meaning "straw", referring to the narrow leaves. Only two species are in general cultivation. A number of species are now included in the genus ''

Chlorophytum ''Chlorophytum'' (,''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607), sometimes colloquially referred to as the spider plants, is a genus of almost 200 species of evergreen Perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the Agavoideae, century plan ...

'', the Spider Plant, a familiar and popular

house plant A houseplant, also known as a pot plant, potted plant, or indoor plant, is an ornamental plant cultivated indoors. for aesthetic or practical purposes. These plants are commonly found in homes, offices, and various indoor spaces, where they contr ...

. Others, including the St. Bruno's Lily, are now classed in the genus '' Paradisea''.

Selected species

*'' Anthericum acuminatum'' Rendle *'' Anthericum baeticum'' *'' Anthericum falcatum'' L.f. *'' Anthericum japonicum'' Thunb. *'' Anthericum liliago'' L. – St. Bernard's lily *'' Anthericum ramosum'' L.

Formerly placed here

*'' Arthropodium cirrhatum'' (G.Forst.) R.Br. (as ''A. cirrhatum'' G.Forst.) *'' Bulbine frutescens'' (L.) Willd. (as ''A. frutescens'' L.) *'' Bulbine longiscapa'' (Jacq.) Willd. (as ''A. longiscapum'' Jacq.) *'' Bulbinella hookeri'' (Colenso ex Hook.) Cheeseman (as ''A. hookeri'' (Colenso ex Hook.) Hook.f.) * ''Bulbinella nutans'' subsp. ''nutans'' (as ''A. nutans'' Thunb.) *'' Chlorophytum bichetii'' (Karrer) Backer (as ''A. bichetii'' hort. ex Backer, nom. inval.) *'' Chlorophytum capense'' (L.) Voss (as ''A. elatum'' Aiton) *'' Chlorophytum macrophyllum'' (A.Rich.) Asch. (as ''A. macrophyllum'' A.Rich.) *'' Eccremis coarctata'' (Ruiz & Pav.) Baker (as ''A. coarctatum'' Ruiz & Pav.) *'' Echeandia flavescens'' (Schult. & Schult.f.) Cruden (as ''A. flavescens'' Schult. & Schult.f. and ''A. torreyi'' Baker) *'' Drimia fragrans'' (Jacq.) J.C.Manning & Goldblatt (as ''A. fragrans'' Jacq.) *'' Drimia physodes'' (Jacq.) Jessop (as ''A. physodes'' Jacq.) *'' Narthecium ossifragum'' (L.) Huds. (as ''A. ossifragum'' L.) *'' Pasithea caerulea'' (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don (as ''A. caeruleum'' Ruiz & Pav.) *'' Simethis planifolia'' (Vand. ex L.) Gren. & Godr. (as ''A. planifolium'' Vand. ex L.)

References

Asparagaceae genera Agavoideae {{Asparagaceae-stub