Boryaceae

Boryaceae is a family of arborescent, or tree forming, highly drought-tolerant flowering plants native to Australia, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The tree habit of these plants and their former placement in the Lily family led to a general common name of lily trees.

Until recently, this family was not recognized by many taxonomists, with most systems putting the two genera, Borya and Alania, in the Anthericaceae or the Liliaceae. The 2009 APG III system (unchanged from the 1998 and 2003 versions) does recognize this family and places it in the order Asparagales, in the clade monocots, based on molecular phylogenetic evidence that shows the two genera to form a clade. The family then includes these two genera, totalling a dozen species in Australia.