It is useful to study the taxonomy study of amaryllidaceae.

2. AMARYLLIDACEAE
Amaryllis Family “Country Girl”
Ma-an Jane Diamos
2010-09049

3.  First described by Jean Henri Jaume St. Hilaire in
1805, the family is named after Amaryllis, a pretty
shepherdess mentioned by Theocritus, Virgil and
Ovid.
 Close relatives are Alliaceae (the onion family) and
Agapanthaceae (the agapanthus family).
 63 genera (www.philippineplants.org)

4. TAXONOMY
Kingdom Plantae
Division Magnoliophyta
Class Liliopsida
Subclass Liliidae
Order Asparagales
Family Amaryllidaceae

5. DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS
 Perennial, bulbous herbs with an umbellate
inflorescence and an inferior ovary.
 P3+3 or (3+3) A3+3 or (3+3) [3-18] G(3), inferior,
hypanthium present
 With 6 petaloid tepals, 6 stamens
 Leaves alternate, basal, simple and sheathing
 Fruits capsules or berries.
 Inflorescence usually raises in an umbelloid cyme.
 Seed coat usually has a black or blue crust
(phytomelan)

6.  Terrestrial, rarely aquatic or epiphytic, perennial herbs
 Stems are bulbs, covered by membranous leaf bases,
the tunica
 Leaves simple, undivided, spiral or distichous, sheathing
or not, sessile or petiolate, and parallel veined
 Inflorescence a terminal, scapose umbel (derived from
condensed, monochasial cymes, sometimes termed a
pseudo-umbel), rarely of solitary flowers, with bracts
present, enclosing the flower buds
 Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, or zygomorphic,
pedicellate or sessile, bracteates, epigynous to
epiperigynous
 Perianth biseriate, homochlamydeous, trimerous,
apopetalous or syntepalous, and forming a short to long
hypanthial tube, sometimes with a perianth corona (e.g.
Narcissus)

7.  Stamens generally biseriate, 3+3 [3 18], distinct or
connate, forming a stamina corona in some (e.g.
Hymenocallis)
 Anthers usually dorsifixed, longitudinal (rarely poricidal),
and introrse in dehiscence
 Gynoecium syncarpous, with an inferior ovary, 3
carpels, and 3 [1] locules
 Placentation axile or basal
 Ovules anatropous, bitegmic, unitegmic, or ategmic.
 Fruit a loculicidal capsule or rarely a berry
 Seeds phytomelaniferous

12. ENDEMIC EXAMPLES
 Genera 59, species about 850 in all warm
countries, 11 genera and about 15 species in the
Philippines, mostly introduced (Elmer Merill, A Flora
of Manila)
 Crinum L., Curculigo Gaertner, Hymenocallis
Salisbury, Pancratium L., Proiphys Herb. (Co’s
Digital Flora of the Philippines)

13. Crinum asiaticum Curculigo latifolia
“Spider lily” “Lemba”

14.  Crinum asiaticum- Spider Lily- LUZON, MINDORO,
PALAWAN, MINDANAO. Along sandy seashores,
sometimes planted inland.
 Crinum gracile-Type: Cuming 1382. Sumatra
(Palembang), Philippines, New Guinea. LUZON:
Nueva Ecija, Laguna, MINDORO, MINDANAO.
Primary lowland forests.
 Curculigo latifolia-Philippines, Sulawesi. LUZON:
Sorsogon, PALAWAN, BALABAC, PANAY, SAMAR,
MINDANAO: Zamboanga; Lanao del Sur, Agusan
del Norte (Mt Hilong-hilong). Lowland and medium
altitude forests.

15. Crinum zeylanicum Crinum latifolium
Lilio/ Liryo Pink-striped trumpet lily (Liryo)

16.  Crinum latifolium L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 291; --Merr., Fl.
Manila (1912) 148; EPFP 1 (1922) 210; --Steiner,
Philip. Ornam. Pl. (1960) 137; --Geerinck, Fl.
Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 361. Native to tropical Asia.
Cultivated as an ornamental and perhaps escaped.
 Crinum zeylanicum L., Syst. ed. 12 (1767) 236; --
Merr., Fl. Manila (1912) 148; EPFP 1 (1922) 211; --
Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 361. Native to
tropical Africa and Asia. Cultivated as an
ornamental and subnaturalized (non-Philippine)

17. Curculigo capitulata Curculigo orchioides
“Palm grass” “Orchid Palm Grass”

18.  Curculigo capitulata- BATANES, LUZON: Mountain
Province, Benguet, Laguna, Quezon, Sorsogon,
POLILLO, ALABAT, MINDORO, NEGROS,
BILIRAN, LEYTE, PANAY, MINDANAO, SIARGAO.
Forests and thickets, cheifly at low and medium
altitudes, ascending to 1800m.
 Curculigo orchioides- LUZON: Mountain Province,
Pangasinan, Rizal, Sorsogon, MINDORO,
SEMIRARA, PALAWAN, PANAY, BILIRAN,
SAMAR, MINDANAO. Low to medium altitude
grasslands, particularly kogonales type.

19. Hymenocallis littoralis Hypoxis aurea
“Daffodil” “Golden star grass”

20.  Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb., Trans. Hort. Soc. 1
(1812) 338; --Merr., EPFP 1 (1922) 211; --Geerinck, Fl. Males.
ser. 1, 11 (1993) 362. --Type from West Indies. S to C
America. Cultivated and naturalized in tropical Africa, tropical
Asia and the Pacific Islands. Bismarck Archipelago, Java,
Philippines: LUZON. Cultivated around towns, occasional in
waste places, along seashores and in moist sandy places at
low altitudes.
 Hypoxis aurea Lour., Fl. Cochinch. (1790) 200; --Merr., EPFP
1 (1922) 214; --Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 370, f. 6.
--Type from Vietnam . China, India, Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Philippines,
Sulawesi, Flores, New Guinea (Irian Jaya). LUZON: Mountain
Province, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, MINDANAO: Lanao,
Bukidnon. Grassland and other sunny places, medium and
higher altitudes, ascending to 2300m.

21. Pancratium zeylanicum Proiphys amboinensis
“Rain flower” “Cardwell Lily”

22.  Pancratium zeylanicum L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 290; --
Merr., Fl. Manila (1912) 148; EPFP 1 (1922) 212; --
Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 363, Fig. 2. --
Type: Probably from Sri Lanka, but perhaps of
garden origin. India, Sri Lanka, Peninsular
Malaysia, Borneo (Pandaran), Java, Philippines
(introduced), Sulawesi and Moluccas (Ambon,
Gorontala). LUZON: La Union, Camarines,
PALAWAN, BILIRAN. Coconut and abaca
plantations, grasslands, thickets, also cultivated in
gardens, altitude up to 600m altitude.

23.  Proiphys amboinensis (L.) Herbert, Appendix
(1821) 42; --Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993)
366, Fig. 3, 4a-b; --Eurycles amboinensis (L.) Lindl.
in Loud. Encycl. Pl. (1829) 242; --Merr., Fl. Manila
(1912) 149; EPFP 1 (1922) 211. Thailand,
Philippines, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda Isls (Bali,
Timor), Moluccas (Ambon), New Guinea, Bismarck
Archipelago. LUZON: Cavite, Rizal, Laguna,
MINDORO, PALAWAN. Seashores and rocky
places, lowland secondary forests, often cultivated
as an ornamental, apparently never far from human
settlements and hence possibly introduced.
 Eurycles Salisbury = Proiphys

25. SIGNIFICANCE
 Cultivated ornamentals, such as Amaryllis
(belladonna-lily), Crinum, Galanthus (snowdrop),
Hippeastrum (amaryllis), Leucojum (snowflake),
Lycoris (spider lily), and Narcissus (daffodil)
 Used by indigenous peoples for medicinal,
flavouring, psychotropic, or other purposes
 Bulbs and fruit of some species reported toxic to
stock and humans if eaten

26.  Bulbs and leaves of Crinum are useful in herbal
medicines.
 Prostatitis, adenoma, benign prostate enlargement,
uterine fibroids etc
 Used to enhance cell-mediated immunity and acts
as an effective T-lymphocyte activator.
 Used in cases of hypoxia, inflammation,
detoxification, tissue regeneration, and hormone
balancing
 Leaf juice is used for earache, rheumatic pain, and
sprain
 Bulbs are used to induce vomiting.

27.  The present invention relates to Curculigo latifolia
(C.latifolia) extracts, wherein the extracts extracted
from different parts of a plant such as fruits, roots and
leaves, individually and in any combination thereof,
characterized in that the extracts are used as an agent
for treating and preventing metabolic disorder disease
such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, cardiovascular, and
atherosclerosis
-UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia)

28. REFERENCES
 Merill, E.D. (1912). A flora of manila. Manila:
Bureau of Printing.
 Simpson, M. (2010). Plant systematics. Academic
Press.
 Geerinck, DJL. 1993. Amaryllidaceae. Flora
Malesiana series 1, 11: 353-373.
Website:
 http://www.rmc.upm.edu.my/upmip/index.php?conte
nt=getcluster&ipid=720&ipdetailid=706&projectlead
=33&cluster=3
 Co’s Digital Flora of the Philippines:
http://www.philippineplants.org/