sensu APWeb[2] The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales.

The diversity is also of considerable evolutionary significance, as some members emerged from shaded areas and adapted to a more open environment (see Evolution).

Both the petals and sepals are usually similar and appear as two concentric groups (whorls) of 'petals', that are often striped or multi-coloured, and produce nectar at their bases.

Shade-dwelling genera usually have broader leaves with smooth edges and net venation, and fleshy fruits (berries) with animal-dispersed seeds, rhizomes, and small, inconspicuous flowers while genera native to sunny habitats usually have narrow, parallel-veined leaves, capsular fruits with wind-dispersed seeds, bulbs, and large, visually conspicuous flowers.

Modern taxonomic systems, such as the APG which is based on phylogenetic principles using molecular biology, have redistributed many of these genera resulting in the relatively small family that is currently recognised.

Jussieu defined this grouping as having a calyx of six equal colored parts, six stamens, a superior ovary, single style, and a trilocular (three-chambered) capsule.

By 1845, John Lindley, the first English systematist, unhappily acknowledged the great diversity in the circumscription of the family, and that it had expanded vastly, with many subdivisions.

[30] Many other botanists echoed Lindley's earlier concerns about the phylogeny of the Liliaceae, but various schemes to divide the family gained little traction.

[6] The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) made rapid progress in establishing a modern monophyletic classification of the flowering plants by 2009.

[21] Major evolutionary clades include the Lilieae (Lilium, Fritillaria, Nomocharis, Cardiocrinum, Notholirion) from the Himalayas about 12 mya and the Tulipeae (Erythronium, Tulipa, Gagea) from East Asia at about the same time.

This was accompanied by a shift from rhizomes to bulbs, to more showy flowers, the production of capsular fruit and narrower parallel-veined leaves.

[6] Due to the diversity of the originally broadly defined Liliaceae s.l., many attempts have been made to form suprageneric classifications, e.g. subfamilies and tribes.

The genus name comes from the Classical Latin word lilium, "lily", which in turn came from the Greek leírion (λείριον).

Their distribution is diverse, mainly in plains, steppes, and alpine meadows, but also in deciduous forests, Mediterranean scrub and arctic tundra.

The colorful flowers produce large amounts of nectar and pollen that attract insects which pollinate them (entomophily), particularly bees and wasps (hymenopterophily), butterflies (psychophily) and moths (phalaenophily).

[6] The proliferation of deer populations in many areas, due to human factors such as the elimination of their animal predators and introduction to alien environments, is placing considerable herbivory pressure on many of the family's species.

Liliaceae are subject to a wide variety of diseases and pests, including insects, such as thrips, aphids, beetles and flies.

[56][57] Many species of Lilieae (in genera Tulipa, Fritillaria, Lilium, and Erythronium) and Calochortoideae (Calochortus and Tricyrtis) are grown as ornamental plants worldwide.

They are generally used in outdoor gardens and other displays, although in common with many bulbous flowering plants they are often induced to bloom indoors, particularly during the winter months.

International trade in cut flowers has an approximate total value of 11 billion euros, which provides an indication of the economic importance of this activity.

Breeding programs have produced a wide range of tulip types, enabling blooming through a much longer season by creating early, mid- and late spring varieties.

In addition to blooming season, tulip varieties differ in shape and height, and exhibit a wide range of colours, both pure and in combination.

The Netherlands produces about 2,200 million lily bulbs annually, of which 96% is used domestically and the remainder exported, principally within the European Union.

[83] During World War II, starvation conditions in the Netherlands (Hongerwinter, hunger winter 1944) led to using Tulipa bulbs as food.

Other members of the family used for food include Clintonia (leaves), Medeola (roots), Erythronium (corms), and Fritillaria (bulbs).

[84] The type genus, Lily (Lilium), has a long history in literature and art, and a tradition of symbolism as well as becoming a popular female name, and a floral emblem, particularly of France (fleur-de-lis).

Tulips became widely used in decorative motifs on tiles, fabrics, and ceramics in Islamic art and the Ottoman Empire in particular,[58] and were revered in poetry, such as that of Omar Khayam in the twelfth century.

As the Seljuks – Oghuz-Turkic leaders originated from the steppes – moved to Persia, and then west, they took tulips with them to Turkey, where many escaped cultivation and became naturalised.

Tulips first appeared in the decorative arts in Turkey in the thirteenth century and flourished under the Ottomans, in particular in the royal palaces, and was adopted by the Osmans as their symbol.

Tulips spread rapidly across Europe in the seventeenth century, and became an important trading item, initially in France before concentrating in the Netherlands.