The lily family, Liliaceae has 15 genera and about 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. All of the plants in this family have a fair amount of diversity despite genetic similarity. Most species are grown from bulbs, although some have rhizomes and most all of their flowers are insect pollinated.

This family was first described in 1789, after which, the lily family became a catch-all group of lilioid monocots that did not fit into other families. With further research, many of those species that were once in this family have now been included in other families and in some cases in other orders.

Many Liliaceae are important ornamental plants, widely grown for their attractive flowers and involved in a major floriculture of cut flowers and dry bulbs. Some species are poisonous if eaten and can have adverse health effects in humans and household pets.

The Liliaceae are characterized as monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, bulbous (or rhizomatous in the case of Medeoleae) flowering plants with simple trichomes (root hairs) and contractile roots.

Common characteristics include large flowers with parts arranged in threes: with six colored or patterned petaloid tepals (undifferentiated petals and sepals) arranged in two whorls, six stamens and a superior ovary.

The leaves are linear in shape, with their veins usually arranged parallel to the edges, single and arranged alternating on the stem, or in a rosette at the base.

The species of the Family Liliaceae are widely distributed, mainly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and.