Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Chlorophytum
pseudocaule
Description
Habitat and
distribution
Chlorophytum
comosum
CHLOROPHYTUM 157
Wellega and Illubabor floristic regions in Ethiopia, but
is otherwise widespread through eastern Africa south to
Zambia and Malawi. The main flowering period is May
to June.
20. Chlorophytum pseudocaule Tesfaye &
Nordal
The species belong in a group (of which the widespread
C. andongense and C. viridescens also occur in East
Africa) characterized by fleshy roots, peduncles with ±
bractlike leaves (“bracteate peduncles”) and a branched
inflorescence. Within this group it is only one species
where the leaf bases enclose each other to make a
socalled false stem (=pseudocaulis), the justification for
the species epithet. It was recently collected by Tesfaye
Awas in the Welega floristic regions and described by
Tesfaye & Nordal (2007).
Herbs up to 105 cm. Rhizome short with thick spongy roots without
tubers. Pseudostem, created by folded leaf bases up to 40 cm,
surrounded by short cataphylls. Leaves, inner up to 40 × 5­6.5 cm,
with spaced veins and a distinct midrib. Peduncle with 1–2 bractlike
leaves 10–13 × 1–1.5 cm below the inflorescence. Inflorescence,
a branched panicle with 2–3 flowers per node. Pedicels up to 10
mm with joint below the middle, pale brown above the articulation,
green below. Flowers urceolate, pale brown, tepals 6 × 1–1.5 mm,
reflexed, 3-veined; filaments filiformous, scabrid, 3–5 mm long;
anthers 0,7 mm curved; style excerted slightly bent. Capsules 5 ×
5 mm, trigonous in cross section. Seeds slightly saucer shaped, 2
mm in diameter.
The species is only known from wetland, open bushy
meadows dominated by Kotchya, Cyperus, Cymbopogon,
Hyparrhenia, within bamboo tickets (Oxytenanthera
abyssinica) on grey clay, otherwise dominated by other
geophytes, in the Welega floristic region in Ethiopia from
1430 to 1560 m. It is thus a narrow endemic, flowering
in April to May.
21. Chlorophytum comosum (Thunberg) Jacques
The species epithet ‘comosum’ means ‘bea ring a tuft of
leaves’ and refers to the trait that small plantlets often
develop in the nodes of the inflorescence. It was described