{"id":151,"date":"2026-06-04T12:24:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/bulbous-lab\/?page_id=151"},"modified":"2026-08-01T16:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:17:14","slug":"asparagaceae","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/bulbous-lab\/asparagaceae\/","title":{"rendered":"Asparagaceae"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Asparagaceae are an economically and evolutionary important monocot (e.g., orchids, palms, grasses) plant group. It contains ~2,500 species which include iconic arid-adapted plants, such as the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia<\/em>) or the Dragon\u2019s Blood Tree (Dracaena draco<\/em>) as well as economically important species like asparagus (Asparagus officinalis<\/em>), tequila agave (Agave tequiliana<\/em>), garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis<\/em>), and snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata<\/em>). There are huge differences in species richness and trait diversity across the Asparagaceae subfamilies, which makes the group excellent for studying both conserved and not-so-conserved trait evolution as well as how these differences influence diversification. For example, the Agavoideae contain ~650 species total, and have experienced multiple shifts from succulents\/rhizomes to bulbs, whereas all taxa in the Scilloideae (1000+ ssp.) and Brodiaeoideae (~100 ssp.) have bulbs and corms, respectively. The Aphyllanthoideae only has one species in the whole subfamily: Aphyllanthes monspeliensis<\/em>! The historical evolutionary processes generating the disparate biodiversity and morphological patterns seen across Asparagaceae are unknown. The Bulbous Lab aims to continually refine our understanding of the Asparagaceae phylogeny, from subfamilial relationships to species-level patterns, to better understand historical biogeography, trait evolution, and diversification of this diverse and important plant group.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Image
Representative taxon per subfamily: Aphyllanthoideae\u2014Aphyllanthes monspeliensis L. (photo credit: Mario Mart\u00ednez-Azor\u00edn), Agavoideae\u2014Agave horrida Lem ex Jacobi (photo credit: Etelvina G\u00e1ndara); Brodiaeoideae\u2014Bessera elegans Schult.f. (photo credit: Etelvina G\u00e1ndara); Nolinoideae\u2014Beaucarnea gracilis Lem. (photo credit: Etelvina G\u00e1ndara); Scilloideae\u2014two unknown Ledebouria species (photo credit: Cody Coyotee Howard); Lomandroideae\u2014Dichopogon fimbriatus (R.Br.) J.F.Macbr.
(photo credit: \u201cArthropodium fimbriatum plant1\u201d by Harry Rose, CC BY 2.0); Asparagoideae\u2014Asparagus alopecurus (Oberm.) Malcomber & Sebsebe (photo credit: Philip Bentz).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Asparagaceae are an economically and evolutionary important monocot (e.g., orchids, palms, grasses) plant group. It contains ~2,500 species which include iconic arid-adapted plants, such as the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) or the Dragon\u2019s Blood Tree (Dracaena draco) as well as economically important species like asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), tequila agave (Agave tequiliana), garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-151","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"\nAsparagaceae - Bulbous Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/bulbous-lab\/asparagaceae\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Asparagaceae - Bulbous Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Asparagaceae are an economically and evolutionary important monocot (e.g., orchids, palms, grasses) plant group. It contains ~2,500 species which include iconic arid-adapted plants, such as the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) or the Dragon\u2019s Blood Tree (Dracaena draco) as well as economically important species like asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), tequila agave (Agave tequiliana), garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus ... 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