Familia Amaryllidaceae

Au fost descries peste 300 de specii de agave, dar numai 200 dintre acestea sunt recunoscute.
Majoritatea speciilor sunt monocarpice, in ciuda faptului ca exista unele specii de agave ce pot inflorii de
mai multe ori intr-un an. Florile sunt perfecte, avand atat gineceu cat si andoroceu. Multe specii de
agave sunt polenizate de lilieci si produc parfumuri pe post
demomeala. Altele produc mirosuri dulci pentru a atrage insectele.
Interiorul frunzelor contine fibre longitudinale, care reprezinta sistemul vascular. Fibrele din interiorul
frunzelor erau folosite de nativii americani pentru prepararea unor leacuri. Fibrele agavelor provenite de
la anumite specii sunt de o importanta crescuta, cele mai bune fibre fiind cele ale frunzelor tinere.
Canepa facuta din Agave sisalana este utilizata la confectionarea covoarelor si a hainelor. Carbohidratii
inmagazinati in miezul agavelor erau fermentati de nativii americani pentru a prepara o bautur
a numita pulque, care era utilizata in cadrul ceremoniilor religioase

2
Este utilizata ca planta ornamentala intr-o insula de trafic din Texas. Aceasta specie de agave este
probabil cel mai des utilizata ca planta ornamentala si s-a raspandit in toate colturile lumii indiferent de
clima. Datorita acestei raspandiri excesive, originile acestei plante sunt incerte, chiar daca se crede ca
provine din Mexic. Frunzele sale gigantice, ce ajung pana la 6 m lungime, sunt o sursa importanta de
fibre. Agave americana este pe departe cea mai toleranta specie a genului, datorita raspandirii sale
intinse. Aceasta specie supravietuieste in ghivece si chiar si in pamant, de-a lungul iernilor crancene din
Londra. In schimb, aceasta supravietuieste chiar si climei toride din Texas, Arizona.
Agave tequilana
Este o planta de interes economic, fiind ingredientul de baza al tequilei, un alcool distilat foarte popular
in Mexic. Florile sunt polenizate de un liliac si produc un numar mare de seminte; apoi planta moare. La
plantele cultivate, la cele de un an de vegetatie, se elimina lastarii pentru a i se permite inimii sa creasca
mai mult. Plantele sunt apoi reproduse prin plantarea acestor lastari, lucru care a dus la o pierdere
considerabila a diversitatii genetice a agavelor cultivate. Inima plantei poate creste pana ce atinge o
greutate cuprinsa intre 35 si 90 de kg. Aceasta este curatata de frunze si incalzita pantru a se obtine
seva, care apoi este fermentata si distilata. Frunzele anumitor specii de agave, plante ornamentale
originare din America, sunt folosite pentru fabricarea frnghiilor ori a diverselor esturi.Productorii din
Mexic au deja sperana c vor cultiva aceste plante pentru NASA , ai crei reprezentani, n timpul unei
vizite fcute pe plantaiile mexicane, s-au artat interesai de proprietile antioxidante pe care le are
sucul extras din agave. Specialitii NASA au ajuns la concluzia c acest produs natural, datorit
proprietilor sale anticorozive, ar putea reduce nclzirea suprafeelor metalice ale navelor spaiale n
momentul n care acestea reintr n atmosfer.
The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous flowering plants included in the
monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus Amaryllis, hence the common
name of the amaryllis family.

Contents

1 Description
2 Taxonomy
2.1 History
2.2 Modern era
3 References
4 Bibliography (Historical)
Description

Plants have rather fleshy and two-ranked leaves and flowers typically arranged in umbels at the apex of
leafless flowering stems, or scapes. The Agapanthoideae have superior ovaries, as do the Allioideae, the
onion subfamily. The Allioideae produce allyl sulfide compounds which give them their characteristic
smell. The Amaryllidoideae have inferior ovaries.[2]

Taxonomy

History

The history of this family can be traced back to Linnaeus' Hexandria monogynia (1753)[3] although not
formally named as such till 1805, by Jean Henri Jaume Saint-Hilaire who used the term
'Amaryllideae',.[4] and then 'Amaryllidaceae' by John Lindley in 1836.[5] The Lilinnaen grouping
contained 51 genera which over the course of time have been variously classified either liliaceous or
amaryllidaceous.[3] This uncertainty of circumscription reflected a wider problem with the petaloid
monocots in general. over the course of time there have been widely differing views as to the limits of
the family, and consequently much of the literature dealing with this family requires careful inspection
to determine which sense of the Amaryllidaceae the work treats. At one stage in recent history the
Amaryllidaceae were joined together with the Liliaceae (e.g. Cronquist 1988[6] and Thorne 1976[7])
included Amaryllidaceae within broad concepts of Liliaceae.

A wide variety of suprageneric classifications existed within the Amaryllidaceae, for instance Hickey and
Clive (1997) describe ten tribes by which the family were divided, such as the Zephyrantheae.[8]

Modern era

The most recent APG classification (APG III of 2009) takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which
then has three subfamilies, the Agapanthoideae (the old Agapanthaceae family), the Allioideae (the old
Alliaceae family) and the Amaryllidoideae (the old Amaryllidaceae family).[9] With this definition, the
family includes about 75 genera and 1600 species.[10]
The Amaryllidaceae are perennial herbs from a bulb with contractile roots, comprising 50 genera and
870 species. The leaves are alternate and more or less basal, simple, usually linear or lorate, flat, entire,
parallel-veined, sheathing at base; stipules absent. The flowers are bisexual, often showy, actinomorphic
to zygomorphic, usually in umbelloid cymes. The perianth consists of 6 distinct or connate petaloid
tepals, sometimes with an adnate corona. The androecium consists of 6 stamens attached to the
receptacle or adnate to the perianth tube; filaments free or connate, sometimes appendaged and
forming a staminal corona. The gynoecium consists of a single compound pistil of 3 carpels, a single
style, one capitate or 3-lobed stigma, and an inferior ovary with 3 locules, each containing several to
numerous axile ovules. The fruit is a loculicidal capsule or sometimes a berry. The seed coat usually has
a black or blue crust.