Historical term for group of flowering plants, including lilies
Coronariae (literally a crown or garland) is a term used historically to refer to a group of
flowering plants, generally including the lilies (
Liliaceae), and later replaced by the
orderLiliales. First used in the 17th century by
John Ray, it referred to flowers used to insert in
garlands. Coronariae soon came to be associated with Liliaceae in the
Linnaean system. The term was abandoned at the end of the 19th century, being replaced with Liliiflorae and then Liliales.
History
Seventeenth to nineteenth century usage
Coronariae was first used by
John Ray in his Catalogus plantarum circa Cantabrigiam (1660) as one of 21 classes of
herbaceous plants. In this grouping he included Armerius and Caryophyllus (i.e. Dianthus, Caryophyllaceae).[1] It was next used by
Linnaeus in his Philosophia Botanica (1751) to refer to a very different group of plants.
Linnaeus followed Ray in describing Coronariae as "a beautiful [flower] which is inserted in crowns or garlands".[2] His Coronariae was the ninth of his 69 ordines naturales (i.e.
families), consisting of five
genera, followed by
Liliaceae and Muricatae. These three orders consisted of the following genera:[3]
In a later posthumous publication, Praelectiones in ordines naturales plantarum (1792),[4] Coronariae appear as Ordo X with 28 genera, Linnaeus having merged his previous Liliaceae into Coronariae together with his eleventh order, Muricatae.[2][5] In developing an ordered system of
taxonomic ranks,
Agardh (1825)[6] followed Linnaeus but placed his Coronariae within the higher rank (
order) of
Liliiflorae and confined it to the original Liliaceae:
Subsequent authors, such as
Lindley (1853), preferred the term Liliales for a higher order (which Lindley called
Alliances), including four families including Liliaceae. Lindley lists Coronariae as a
synonym of Liliaceae:[9]
He developed this further in his Genera plantarum (1883), this time dividing the monocotyledons into seven groups, called Series, of which in Coronariae he added
Mayaceae and
Rapateaceae, renamed Commelynaceae as Commelinaceae and omitted Junceae and Palmae.[11]
Later alternative nomenclature
Subsequent authors, now adopting a
phylogenetic (phyletic) or
evolutionary approach over the natural method,[12] did not adopt Bentham's nomenclature.
Eichler (1886) used Liliiflorae for the higher order including Liliaceae,[13] as did
Engler (1903)[14] and
Lotsy (1911).[15]
In post-Linnaean usage, Coronariae corresponds to the modern order Liliales (Lilies and allied
taxa), the largest grouping of families within the
monocotgradeLilioid monocots. The number of families remains about the same as Perleb's original construction. However, the
circumscription of the order Liliales (and its nominative family Liliaceae) have undergone major changes over the years, particularly with the advent of molecular phylogenetics. As a consequence, Liliales is greatly reduced, although still a relatively large monocot order. At one stage the Lilaceae, sensu Lindley, which he called lilyworts in the vernacular, consisted of 133 genera and 1200 species.[21] In this work he unhappily acknowledged the confusing array of different approaches to the classification of the Liliaceae, the lack of a clear definition, and the great diversity in the circumscription of the order, which had expanded vastly, with many subdivisions. As he saw it, the Liliaceae had already become a
catch-all grouping,[22] being "everything that does not belong to the other parts of the Lilial Alliance", but expressed hope that the future would reveal some characteristic that would group them better. In other words, he foresaw that Liliaceae would come to be regarded as
paraphyletic.[23]
As such, it consists of about 67 genera and about 1,558 species.[25][26] The bulk of the Liliales species are found in the very diverse family Liliaceae (16 genera, 610 species). Of the remaining nine families, three are referred to as the vine families (Ripogonaceae, Philesiaceae and Smilacaceae) and form a cluster. Many of these families are very small or
monotypic.[27][28]
Notes
^Coronariae used sensuAgardh (1825), i.e. Linnaeus' Liliaceae
Hutchinson, John (1973).
"Liliales". The families of flowering plants, arranged according to a new system based on their probable phylogeny. 2 vols (3rd ed.).
Oxford University Press. p. 591.