The family Themidaceae was set up very recently, to hold the genera formerly in the Alliaceae which were not compatible with that classification after DNA analysis. These include Brodiaea, Bessera, Dichelostemma, Milla, Muilla, and Triteleia. They are now considered to be more closely related to the Hyacinthaceae than to the alliums.

For more information on the new phylogenies derived from integration of DNA analysis with classical taxonomic criteria, see Meerow et al., American J. of Botany, vol. 86, pp. 1325-1345 (1999).

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