Asparagaceae
A family of 3 genera and some 170 species of shrubs or climbers, sometimes prickly, mainly from Africa, Europe and Asia. [FNSW]. The family contains one species of some economic importance, Asparagus. Represented in the Hortus by a single ornamental species.
Some modern classification systems include a number of once distinct families within Asparagaceae, including Agavaceae and Hyacinthaceae, both important families in the Hortus. However, they are kept as separate families here. The expanded Asparagaceae includes more than 140 genera and 3600 species [http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Asparagaceae].
