Notholirion is a small Asian genus of bulbous plants in the lily family, Liliaceae. It is closely related to Lilium, but each individual flowers only once, and then dies after producing offsets. The bulb is covered by a tunic. Leaves are basal, produced in autumn and winter.

Taxonomy

Baker (1874) considered Notholirion to be a subgenus of Fritillaria, but Boissier (1884) separated it as a distinct genus. The evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships between the genera currently included in Liliaceae are shown in the following Cladogram:

Cladogram: Phylogeny and biogeography of the genera of the Liliaceae
Liliaceae WestNA Tricyrtis Streptopoideae Streptopus Prosartes Scoliopus WestNA Calochortus Lilioideae*EastNAEA MedeoleaeEastNA Clintonia Medeola Lilieaes.l.EA TulipeaeEastAsia Tulipa Amana Erythronium Gagea (Lloydia) Lilieaes.s.Himalayas Notholirion Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
LiliaceaeWestNA Tricyrtis Streptopoideae Streptopus Prosartes Scoliopus WestNA Calochortus Lilioideae*EastNAEA MedeoleaeEastNA Clintonia Medeola Lilieaes.l.EA TulipeaeEastAsia Tulipa Amana Erythronium Gagea (Lloydia) Lilieaes.s.Himalayas Notholirion Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
WestNA Tricyrtis Streptopoideae Streptopus Prosartes Scoliopus
WestNATricyrtis Streptopoideae Streptopus Prosartes Scoliopus
Tricyrtis
Streptopoideae Streptopus Prosartes Scoliopus
StreptopoideaeStreptopus Prosartes Scoliopus
Streptopus
Prosartes Scoliopus
Prosartes
Scoliopus
WestNA Calochortus Lilioideae*EastNAEA MedeoleaeEastNA Clintonia Medeola Lilieaes.l.EA TulipeaeEastAsia Tulipa Amana Erythronium Gagea (Lloydia) Lilieaes.s.Himalayas Notholirion Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
WestNACalochortus
Lilioideae*EastNAEAMedeoleaeEastNA Clintonia Medeola Lilieaes.l.EA TulipeaeEastAsia Tulipa Amana Erythronium Gagea (Lloydia) Lilieaes.s.Himalayas Notholirion Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
MedeoleaeEastNAClintonia Medeola
Clintonia
Medeola
Lilieaes.l.EATulipeaeEastAsia Tulipa Amana Erythronium Gagea (Lloydia) Lilieaes.s.Himalayas Notholirion Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
TulipeaeEastAsiaTulipa Amana Erythronium Gagea (Lloydia)
Tulipa Amana Erythronium
Tulipa
Amana Erythronium
Amana
Erythronium
Gagea (Lloydia)
Gagea (Lloydia)
Lilieaes.s.HimalayasNotholirion Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
Notholirion
Cardiocrinum Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
Cardiocrinum
Lilium (Nomocharis) Fritillaria
Lilium (Nomocharis)
Fritillaria
Phylogenetic tree reflecting relationships based on molecular phylogenetic evidence. *=Liliaceae sensu Tamura; EA=Eurasia NA=North America

Species

List of species:

Bibliography