Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Distribution and
classification
Reproduction
ANTHERICACEAE
ANTHERICUM 127
In this family the underground organ is a rhizome or
corm (never a bulb), which, when cut, is whitish (never
yellowish) inside. The leaves are organised in a basal
rosette, sometimes in two ranks (distichous). The peduncle
(scape) is most often leafless, but may also carry leaves
(as in Chlorophytum longifolium and C. ducis-aprutii).
The inflorescence is branched (paniculate) or unbranched
(racemose or spicate). The flowers are regular to slightly
irregular with free tepals, white or whitish, often with
a green, red or brown keel. The stamens have filiform
to fusiform filaments, and the anthers open with splits
inwards (introrse dehiscence). The ovary is subdivided
in three chambers with several ovules per chamber, fixed
on a central column (axile placentation). The style is
slender with a small stigma. The fruit is a capsule that
opens by three slits between the three septa (loculicidal
dehiscence). The seeds are black, often glossy, and may
also be papillose.
Anthericaceae is a tropical and temperate family with 9
genera and c. 200 species, distributed mainly in Africa,
Europe, Asia and the Americas, extending to North
Australia. Two of the genera occur in Africa. In Ethiopia
and Eritrea ca. 30 species have been found. The family is
closely related to Asphodelaceae, and it may sometimes
be difficult to distinguish on gross morphology. The genus
Trachyandra, which is now included in Asphodelaceae,
was in fact up to the 1960’s included in the genus
Anthericum. However, representatives of Asphodelaceae
always contain anthraquinones, a yellow coloured
chemical compound, which is revealed when the rhizome
is cut; in Anthericaceae the rhizomes are whitish inside.
The seeds of Asphodelaceae have an extra cell layer
(aril) covering the black seed coat, making the seeds dull
greyish, not black and glossy as in Anthericaceae.
The walls separating the three chambers of the ovaries
contain nectar producing areas (septal glands). The