Editing Liliaceae (section)

=== Modern APG classification and phylogeny ===
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group ([[Angiosperm Phylogeny Group|APG]]) made rapid progress in establishing a modern [[monophyletic]] classification of the flowering plants by 2009.<ref name="APG III 2009"/> Despite establishing this relative degree of [[monophyly]] (genetic homogeneity) for the family Liliaceae,<ref name="Chase et al. 1995a"/><ref name="Chase et al. 1995b"/> their morphology remains diverse<ref name="Tamura 1998b"/> and there exists within the Liliaceae [[clade]] or grouping, a number of subclades (subgroups). Particularly enigmatic were ''Clintonia'', ''Medeola'', ''Scoliopus'', and ''Tricyrtis''.

Of the fifteen genera within the Liliaceae, the ten genera of the [[Lilioideae]] [[subfamily]] form one morphological group that is characterised by contractile bulbs and roots, and a Fritillaria-type [[embryo-sac]] (megagametophyte with four megaspores). Within the Lilioideae, ''Clintonia'' and the closely related ''Medeola'' form a subclade, and are now considered a separate tribe ([[Medeoleae]]).<ref name="Hayashi 2001"/> The other major grouping consists of the five genera constituting the [[Streptopoideae]] (including ''Scoliopus'') and [[Calochortoideae]] (including  ''Tricyrtis'') subfamilies characterised by creeping rhizomes, styles which are divided at their apices, and by megagametophyte development of the ''[[Polygonum]]''-type (a simple megaspore and triploid endosperm) embryo-sac.

{{anchor|Evolution}} <!-- must have been an old name for this subtopic -->