Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

130 ANTHERICACEAE
Key to the species
the New World, but these species should probably be
referred to another genus. Five species of Anthericum
occur in Tropical Africa south to northern Tanzania, all
of them are found in Ethiopia. All of them appear to be
connected to ± disturbed habitats, and speciation might
have taken place in the Horn of Africa in relation to
human activities.
1. Peduncle completely reduced (rarely up to 1 cm) ; inflorescence ± umbel-like
with pedicels, (15–) 25–80 mm long, emerging directly from the the leaf rosette
2
- Peduncle distinct, (2–) 3–15 cm long; inflorescence racemose, unbranched
or with few basal branches, pedicels shorter than 25 mm long 3
2. Leaves 1–3 cm wide; peduncle up to 1 cm long; pedicels (15–) 25–30 mm long
4. A. tetraphyllum
- Leaves up to 0,5 cm wide; peduncle completely reduced; pedicels 30–80 mm
long 5. A. angustifolium
3. Peduncles erect, infloresecence an ordinary raceme, without contractions 4
- Peduncles prostrate, inflorescence with partially contracted internodes
3. A. neghellense
4. Leaves ca. 0.5 cm wide, slightly succulent and tubular; inflorescence never
branched; capsules slightly ridged, but not verrucose (i.e. without wart-like
outgrowths) 1. A. corymbosum
- Leaves ca. 1cm wide, flat; inflorescence often with 1–3 basal branches;
capsules verrucose (i.e. with wart-like outgrowths) 2. A. jamesii
Anthericum
corymbosum
1. Anthericum corymbosum Baker
The specific epithet ‘corymbosum’ refers to the inflorescence,
a corymb, which is a kind of raceme where the
lower pedicels are much longer than the upper ones.
The species was described by Baker in 1877, based on
material from Somalia, collected by Hildebrandt. It is
easily recognised from Anthericum angustifolium and A.
tetraphyllum by the distinct peduncle and the racemose
inflorescence and from A. neghellense by its erect
peduncle.