Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Chlorophytum
blepharophyllum
Description
Habitat and
distribution
CHLOROPHYTUM 161
forest areas of the Kefa floristic region. C. filipendulum
was recorded in Ethiopia after the publication of the Flora
of Ethiopia and Eritrea (1997).
25. Chlorophytum blepharophyllum Schweinf.
ex Baker
‘Blepharo’ in Greek means eye­lashes, and it refers to the
ciliate leaves, characteristic of the species. The species
was collected by Schweinfurth in the Sudan, and published
by Baker in 1876. In addition to the ciliate leaves and
prominent basal short leaves (‘cataphylls’), the species is
charac terised by its brown tinged inconspicuous flowers,
and that the plants dry blackish (the two latter traits
shared with C. filipendulum).
Plants very variable, 10–40 cm high. Rhizome small with fibrous
remains of old leaf bases. Roots spongy, with elongate tubers near
the tips. Leaves rosulate, olive green above, paler below, lanceolate,
moderately firm, clasping the peduncle; lamina 10–30 × 1.5–4
cm long, margins ciliate; cataphylls orange to purplish or with
coloured veins, with ciliate and often crisped margins. Peduncle
leafless, smooth, shorter than the leaves. Inflorescence most often
unbranched, occasionally with a few short branches at the base;
floral bracts linear to lanceolate, lower ones up to 25 mm long,
often shortly ciliate and hairy. Pedicels articulated near or above the
middle, up to 10 mm long in fruit, 2–4 from the same node. Perianth
whitish tinged brown, slightly urceolate near the base, tepals 6–8
mm long, 3–5­veined, scab rid on margins and veins, patent except
for the base. Capsule obovoid, emarginate, triquetrous, 6–10 mm
long, most often longer than broad, with persistent perianth remnants
at the base. Seeds disc­shaped, 2–3 mm in diameter.
The species grows in open deciduous Com bretum
woodland and in grassland margins, often on light sandy
and stony soils between 550 and 1200 m. It is recorded
from the western parts of Tigray, Gojam, and Illubabor
floristic regions in Ethiopia. It is widespread in tropical
Africa west to Senegal, through Central and East Africa,
south to Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The plants
have only been collected in the fruting stage, from July to
October. The plants from Illubabor floristic region seem
to have more pendent fruits than typical for the species
elsewhere. More material is needed to see whether this
form deserves taxonomic recognition.