Dianella (Dianella)
Description
Dianella is a monocot genus of flowering plants. They are commonly called flax lilies. In the APG II system of plant classification, Dianella was placed in the family Hemerocallidaceae. When that system was replaced by APG III in 2009, Hemerocallidaceae was combined with two other families, called Asphodelaceae in the APG IV system. Dianella ranges from Japan to India, thence south to Australia and New Zealand; it also occurs on many Pacific Islands. About half of the species are native to Australia. Several species are grown for their attractive foliage and shiny, blue to purple berries. Estimates of the number of species range from 20 to more than 40. The type species for the genus is Dianella ensata, now a synonym of Dianella ensifolia. Dianella is not well understood taxonomically and is in much need of revision. It is closely related to Thelionema and Herpolirion. Not all taxonomists recognize the genus. In one paper on the classification of Xanthorrhoeaceae, Dianella and six other genera were subsumed in the genus Phormium.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Liliales
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Family: Liliaceae
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Genus: Dianella
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