''Hesperocallis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s that includes a single species, ''Hesperocallis undulata'', known as the desert lily or ajo lily. It is found in the desert areas of southwestern North America, in Northwestern Mexico,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The plant grows in

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

habitats.

Taxonomy

In the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

, adopted here, ''Hesperocallis'' is placed in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

, subfamily Agavoideae, since recent molecular systematic studies (Pires et al. 2004) have confirmed a close relationship with '' Agave''. Other classifications have included the species in its own family, Hemerocallidaceae, or placed it in the Hostaceae (Funkiaceae); both families are submerged into the Agavoideae in the APG III system. As with many of the ' lilioid monocots', prior to the use of molecular evidence in classification, it was placed in the

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair ...

Uses

The bulbs of the desert lily are eaten by native peoples.

References

*Pires, J. C., I. J. Maureira, J. P. Rebman, G. A. Salazar, L. I. Cabrera, M. F. Fay, and M. W. Chase. 2004. Molecular data confirm the phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic ''Hesperocallis'' (Hesperocallidaceae) with ''Agave''. ''Madroño'' 51: 307–311.
NCBI Taxonomy Browser

External links

genus
an
USDA Plants Profile of ''Hesperocallis undulata''

''Hesperocallis''
in th
''Flora of North America''
(treated as a member of the family

)
Distribution Map

''Hesperocallis undulata'' picturesBLM Desert Lily Preserve photo album

links at CSDL, Texas
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1202086, from2=Q3134708 Agavoideae Monotypic Asparagaceae genera North American desert flora Flora of the California desert regions Flora of Arizona Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants used in Native American cuisine Asparagaceae genera Flora without expected TNC conservation status