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The Asparagaceae is a morphologically heterogenous family with the included species varying widely in their appearance and growth form. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, with genera and species contained in the family native to all continents except Antarctica.
Taxonomy
Early taxonomy
The plant family Asparagaceae was first named, described, and published in Genera Plantarum in 1789 by the French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, who is particularly noted for his work in developing the concept of plant families. From the time of first introduction until the 21st century, the Asparagaceae was a monotypic family containing only the single genus, Asparagus, after which the family was named.
Asparagaceae under the APG II system
In 2003, the formation of the APG II plant classification system radically expanded the Asparagaceae to include the genera and species previously contained in seven plant families. In the APG II system, two options were provided as to the circumscription of the family, with Asparagaceae sensu lato (meaning in the wider sense) being the broader circumscription of the family documented in the APG II; or, Asparagaceae sensu stricto (meaning in the strict sense) consisting of only Asparagus and Hemiphylacus. If opting to use Asparagaceae sensu lato, the paper outlining the APG II system recommended placing the previously recognised family in parentheses after Asparagaceae. The paper also recommended including grouping the families Anemarrhenaceae, Anthericaeae, Behniaceae and Herreriaceae with the Agavaceae, noting that in 2000, the Convallariaceae, Dracaenaceae, Eriospermaceae and Nolinaceae had been grouped together in the Ruscaceae.
Asparagaceae under the APG III system
In 2009, botanists proposed a major revision of the Asparagales order of plants, that included a vast expansion of three constituent plant families; the Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae, to include large number of genera in former plant families by placing them into subfamilies nested within these three plant families. Under the APG III system, the Asparagaceae contain seven subfamilies, and unlike the APG II system, Asparagaceae was only circumscribed in the broad sense (sensu lato), but the Asparagaceae subfamily Asparagoideae is roughly equivalent to Asparagaceae (sensu stricto) under the APG II system. Whilst the subfamilies are broadly equivalent to the previous subdivision by families under the APG II system, genera previously included in one previously recognised family may have moved to another subfamily under the APG III system, or even placed into another family outside of the Asparagaceae.
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Genera
As of July 2025, the family Asparagaceae includes 126 genera; and these genera contain approximately 3,170 accepted species altogether, although the number of accepted genera and their constituent species varies depending on authority and changes with time. The reference against the subfamily name is to the source which places the genus in that subfamily. (References may use the former subfamily name Nolinoideae rather than Convallarioideae.)
Obsolete genera or species formerly included in the Asparagaceae
Calibanus was a former genus that was placed in the Asparagaceae (Convallarioideae subfamily) when the APG III system was introduced. Both members of the genus have since been transferred to the genus Beaucarnea (also a member of the Asparagaceae (Convallarioideae subfamily)) after molecular phylogenetic research demonstrated a strong phylogenetic relationship with species of Beaucarnea.
Sansevieria was a long recognised genus belonging to the Convallarioideae subfamily but on the basis of molecular phylogenetic studies, the species formerly including as belonging to the genus have been transferred to the genus Dracaena (also included in the Noliniodeae subfamily).