| Classification |
| Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order Type: Basal Angiosperms-Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Agavaceae
Family Common Name: Agave Family
Genera: Hosta, Yucca |
Defining Features: Coevolution
in the adaptations of moth and Yucca for pollination.
Defining Morphology: Floral
Features: Flowers are mostly bisexual, radial to somewhat bilateral and
showy. Ovaries inferior or superior with axile placentation. Fruit and
Seed Features: Monocotyledon. Fruits are loculicidal capsule or fleshy
and berry-like. Seeds are flat with black seed coat. Vegetative Features:
Habit as rhizomatous perennial rosette herbs, shrubs, or trees. Leaves
simple, alternate, succulent with mostly entire margin. Sheathing at base
and stipules is lacking.
Distribution: Warm temperate
to tropical regions of the New World.
Economic Use: As ornamentals,
fiber, drinks and oral contraceptives (base on presence of steroidal saponins).
Number of Genera Globally: 23
Number of Species Globally: 637
