Herbs (rarely woody) with flowering stems springing from bulbs or corms, with the leaves parallel-nerved, except in the tribe Smilaceae, where they are netted veined. The perianth consists of six divisions; anthers introrse; ovary superior, usually 3-celled.

A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, 1917, was written by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M.