Sometimes included in Liliaceae.
Habit and leaf form. Herbs (tufted); evergreen, or deciduous. Perennial (leaves and stems annual). Leaves basal. Plants with a basal concentration of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal concentrations of leaves; rhizomatous. Self supporting, or climbing. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral, or distichous; ‘herbaceous’, or leathery, or membranous; sessile; sheathing. Leaf sheaths not tubular; with free margins. Leaves edgewise to the stem, or with ‘normal’ orientation; simple. Leaf blades entire; flat, or folded, or solid (or triquetrous); linear, or lanceolate, or oblong, or ovate; linear (grass-like but short); parallel-veined; without cross-venules; sheathing, woolly. Leaves ligulate, or eligulate; without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaf anatomy. Hairs present (densely woolly). Extra-floral nectaries absent. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent.
Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the gynoecium (from septal nectaries).
Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in spikes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose, or racemose (simple or compound). Inflorescences scapiflorous; terminal; spikes condensed, each surrounded by 2 imbricate bracts; basal bracts sometimes empty; with involucral bracts; pseudanthial, or not pseudanthial. Flowers pedicellate (almost sessile); bracteate (subtend each branch, surround spikes); bracteolate (cover the perianth tube); small, or medium-sized; regular; 3 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic, or tetracyclic. Perigone tube present. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla (the whorls rather different), or of ‘tepals’; 6; 2 -whorled (3+3); isomerous; joined (with a basal tube); petaloid; similar in the two whorls, or different in the two whorls; purple, or brown. Calyx (if the outer whorl so interpreted) 3; 1 -whorled; regular. Corolla (if the inner whorl so interpreted) 3; 1 -whorled; regular. Corolla members sometimes fringed, or . Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 6. Androecial members free of the perianth, or adnate (to the perianth); markedly unequal; coherent (connate tube around the style in a 2-level ring); 1 - adelphous; 1 -whorled, or 2 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens, or including staminodes. Staminodes small, filiform, not so. Stamens 6; all more or less similar in shape; isomerous with the perianth, or diplostemonous; at the base of the perianth tube; alterniperianthial, or oppositiperianthial. Anthers cohering (connate in a cylinder around the style); dorsifixed (very near the base); dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 3 carpelled. The pistil 3 celled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious, or eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 3 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical (or nearly so). Stigmas 1; 2–3 - lobed; capitate. Placentation axile. Ovules 2 per locule; non-arillate; campylotropous (generally), or anatropous.
Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; usually a capsule. Capsules loculicidal. Fruit 3 celled. Seeds endospermic; non-arillate. Cotyledons 1. Embryo straight to curved.
Additional characters Pollen grains trichotomosulcate.