Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

136 ANTHERICACEAE
Key to the species
sharply folded. By the traits of the multi brac teate nodes,
the articulated pedicels, and the thin flat to folded seeds,
Chlorophytum is more or less easily distinguished from
Anthericum.
Chlorophytum is an Old World tropical genus with
about 150 species, and with the main center of diversity
in Tropical Africa. Since the treatment of the genus in
the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea (Nordal 1997), the
widespread, mainly West African rainforest species,
C. filipendulum Baker has been recorded in the Kefa
region, and three new species have been described from
the Wellega region (C. herrmanni Nordal & Sebsebe, C.
serpens Sebsebe & Nordal and C. pseudocaule Tesfaye
& Nordal). Two species, C. neghellense Cufodontis and
C. tetraphyllum (L.f.) Baker,, have been transferred to
Anthericum, making the number species of Chlorophytum
in Ethiopia and Eritrea, 25. The spe cies C. tordense
Chiov. of the Flora has in the meantime been reduced to
C. affine Baker.
1. Pedicels apparently without a joint; peduncle less than 3 cm long; the flowers
and fruits appearing within the leaf rosette 1. C. geophilum
- Pedicels with a joint (difficult to see when it is situated immediately below the
flower, as in C. longifolium and C. silvaticum), peduncle most often longer than
3 cm (shorter in C. inconspicuum) 2
2. Peduncle with leaves all along its length 3
- Peduncles wihout leaves, except occasionally 1-2 sterile bracts just below
the inflorescence. 5
3. Inflorescence papillate or pubescent; flowers bell-shaped; tepals covering the
ovary at anthesis, papillate on the inside just above the ovary
2. C. longifolium
- Inflorescence glabrous; flowers open, star-shaped; tepals not covering the
ovary at anthesis, not papillate 4
4. Leaves produced with the flowers; capsules not ridged, triquetrous, deeply
three-lobed in cross-section; seeds flat 4. C. ducis-aprutii
Leaves produced after the flowers; capsules transversely ridged, trigonous
with shallow lobes in cross-section; seeds irregularly folded 5. C. nubicum
5. All nodes of the inflorescence with a single flower (rarely 2 flowers at the
lowermost node in C. bifolium) 6