Asparagales is an
order of plants in modern classification systems such as the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) and the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. The order takes its name from the
type family Asparagaceae and is placed in the
monocots amongst the
lilioid monocots. The order has only recently been recognized in classification systems. It was first put forward by
Huber in 1977 and later taken up in the
Dahlgren system of 1985 and then the APG in 1998, 2003 and 2009. Before this, many of its families were assigned to the old order
Liliales, a very large order containing almost all monocots with colourful
tepals and lacking
starch in their
endosperm.
DNA sequence analysis indicated that many of the taxa previously included in Liliales should actually be redistributed over three orders, Liliales, Asparagales and
Dioscoreales. The boundaries of the Asparagales and of its families have undergone a series of changes in recent years; future research may lead to further changes and ultimately greater stability. In the APG
circumscription, Asparagales is a large order with 14 families, 1,122
genera, and about 36,000
species.