Perennial, erect or climbing herbs, rarely softly woody shrubs, with rhizomes, corms, or tunicate or scaly bulbs, roots sometimes tuberous. Leaves all basal, or cauline, or reduced to scales. Flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual, actinomorphic, in racemes, panicles, corymbs, terminal spathaceous umbels, or solitary. Perianth mostly petaloid, with or without tube; lobes usually 6 in 2 very similar whorls. Stamens usually 6, hypogynous or adnate to tepals; anther 2-locular, usually opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior or shortly adnate to perianth-tube, 3-locular with axile placentae (1-locular in some spp. of Astelia); ovules usually many, 2-seriate in each locule, rarely solitary. Fruit a loculicidal or septicidal capsule, or berry. Worldwide, of some 175 genera.

Fls bisexual or rarely unisexual, actinomorphic, us. in racemes or panicles, sts solitary. Per. mostly petaloid, with or without tube; tepals us. 6 in 2 very similar whorls. Stamens us. 6, hypogynous or adnate to tepals; anther 2-locular, us. opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior or shortly adnate to per.-tube, mostly 3-locular with axile placentae, rarely 1-locular; style entire or divided, rarely styles free; stigmas us. 3, or if single 3-lobed; ovules us. ∞ and 2-seriate in each loculus, rarely solitary. Fr. a loculicidal or septicidal capsule or a berry. Herbs, mostly perennial, rarely softly woody shrubs. Roots from rhizome, corm or bulb, sts tuberous. Stem erect or climbing. Lvs often clustered near base. Worldwide, of some 175 genera. The 8 N.Z. genera predominantly Southern Hemisphere, none endemic.