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Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

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Reproduction<br />

Conservation<br />

Key to the species<br />

PANCRATIUM 179<br />

tepal segments. The bases <strong>of</strong> the filaments are fused to a<br />

cylindrical corona in P. tenuifolium, <strong>and</strong> reduced to short<br />

teeth in P. centrale. The fruit is a dry loculicidal capsule<br />

including several black angular seeds in each chamber.<br />

There are about 20 species in Africa, the Mediterranean<br />

region <strong>and</strong> southern Asia, four species occur in tropical<br />

Africa, <strong>and</strong> two are found in <strong>Ethiopia</strong>, Pancratium tenuifolium<br />

<strong>and</strong> P. centrale. Another Pancratium species is<br />

cultivated in the upl<strong>and</strong> <strong>Eritrea</strong>. It is a robust plant with<br />

up to five flowers, <strong>and</strong> may belong to the Mediterranean<br />

P. maritimum L.<br />

The white flowers, fragrant in the evening, indicate<br />

hawk­moth pollination. The dry erect capsules, opening<br />

by slits from the top, procure a mechanism for ballistic<br />

seed dispersal.<br />

Pancratium tenuifolium is widespread in the drier parts<br />

<strong>of</strong> the African savannah grassl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> should not need<br />

particular protection, although it is not really common<br />

in <strong>Ethiopia</strong>. The narrow endemic P. centrale needs<br />

particular attention.<br />

1. Leaves pubescent at the base, scape shorter than 10 cm; flowers sessile,<br />

perianth tube longer than 8 cm, corona longer than 2 cm, filament length<br />

1–2 cm 1. P. tenuifolium<br />

- Leaves glabrous, scape longer than 15 cm; flowers with pedicel 1–2.5 cm<br />

long, perianth tube 1.5–2 cm, corona reduced to 12 teeth, 5 mm long,<br />

filament length 0.2 cm 2. P. centrale<br />

Pancratium<br />

tenuifolium<br />

Description<br />

1. Pancratium tenuifolium A.Rich.<br />

The specific epithet ‘tenuifolium’ refers to the narrow<br />

leaves (tenuis = slender, folium = leaf). Richard described<br />

the species in 1850, ba sed on material from <strong>Ethiopia</strong>. It is<br />

closely related to the West African P. tri anthum (meaning<br />

three-flowered), which reaches the Sudan, but it is so far<br />

not known from <strong>Ethiopia</strong>.<br />

Leaves 30–40 × 0.3–1 cm, finely pubescent near the base. Scape,<br />

1–10 cm long, slightly to finely pubescent. Inflorescence one-

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