Melanthieae

Melanthieae
Veratrum album
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Melanthiaceae
Tribe:	Melanthieae

Melanthieae is a tribe of flowering plants within the family Melanthiaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies in the 21st century have resulted in a large-scale reassignment of many of its species to different genera; in particular the genus Zigadenus (deathcamases) has been restricted to a single species, Zigadenus glaberrimus. Plants contain alkaloids, making them unpalatable to grazing animals; many are very poisonous to both animals and humans.

Like the family as a whole, members of the tribe are "lilioid monocots", i.e. their flowers superficially resemble those of the genus Lilium, with six tepals not differentiated into sepals and petals. As with other lilioid monocots, they were previously included in a broadly defined family Liliaceae. They are found mainly in woodland or alpine habitats in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Central America, and Asia), with one species found in South America. They are perennials, growing from a bulb or rhizome (or both). Plants have relatively long leaves, both at the base of the plant and along the flowering stems; many have off-white flowers, tending towards green or purple.

The tribe has some distinctive features within the family Melanthiaceae, including nectaries on the tepals (whose number and position is a useful identifying character for some genera); the unusual way in which the anthers open (dehisce) to release pollen; and the possession of a particular class of alkaloids (veratrum alkaloids). Because of these alkaloids, all members of the tribe are at least unpalatable to , and some are seriously toxic to both animals and humans. Many species have common names including the words "death camas", because of their toxicity and their superficial similarity to the unrelated genus Camassia, species of which are known as "camas".

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