Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

122 ASPHODELACEAE
Fig. 66. Bulbine
abyssinica, from
Yabello, Sidamo
floristic region.
Key to the species
3. JODRELLIA Baijnath
The genus includes plants closely related to Bulbine,
differing in the flower colour, which are pinkish rather
than yellow, and the outer tepals that have 3­5 rather
than one vein. In 1978 H. Baijnath transferred it to his
new genus Jodrellia, which is named after the Jodrell
Laboratory in Kew, England.
The genus is distributed from Namibia (Kaprivi strip)
and Zimbabwe, along Eastern Africa, to Ethiopia and
Somalia. It includes two or three species. The taxonomy
of the species within the genus is still slightly confused.
In Ethiopia there are probably two species, one with
non-inflated fruits and almost smooth seeds in the north
(Jodrellia fistulosa), and another with inflated fruits and
warty (verrucose) seeds in the south (J. macrocarpa).
1. Capsules 4.5–5.5 × 4–5 mm, non-inflated; seed surface almost smooth;
pedicels shorter than bracts 1. J. fistulosa
- Capsules 8–15 × 12–22 mm, inflated; seed surface verrucose;
pedicels longer than bracts 2. J. macrocarpa