Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

192 HYACINTHACEAE
Key to the species
1. Tepals 9 mm long or more 2
- Tepals 8 mm or less 3
2. Pedicels up to 3 mm long 1. L. somaliensis
- Pedicels 5 mm or more 2. L. kirkii
3. Leaves linear up to 7 mm wide 3. L. edulis
- Leaves lanceolate to cordate, more than 15 mm wide 4
4. Tepals about 3 mm wide, 1–2 times longer than wide, only reflexed in the
apical part. 4. L. urceolata
- Tepals up to 2 mm wide, more than 2 times longer than wide, reflexed from
the lower part 5
5. Leaves cordate to broadly lanceolate, with purple papillae above
5. L. cordifolia
- Leaves narrowly lanceolate, without papillae above, but often with purple
spots beneath 6. L. revoluta
Ledebouria
somaliensis
Description
Habitat and
distribution
1. Ledebouria somaliensis (Baker) Stedje &
Thulin
The species epithet refers to Somalia from where this
species was first described by Baker in 1892, then
referring it to the genus Scilla. Stedje and Thulin, when
revising Hyacinthaceae on the Horn of Africa, transferred
the species to Ledebouria in 1995. It is a robust plant,
recognised by its large flowers (segments 9 mm or more)
and its short pedicels (up to 3 mm). The closest relative
appears to be L. kirkii, which has longer pedicels.
Plants up to 30 cm long. Leaves lanceolate, up to 17 × 3 cm.
Inflorescence 5–20 cm long, relatively lax with up to 70 flowers.
Pedicels 1–3 mm long. Tepals green to purple, 9–11 mm long,
reflexed at anthesis. Filaments, usually purplish, 7–9 mm long.
Capsule c. 8 mm long, seeds c. 5 mm long.
The species is found in grassland, bush land or open
woodland, on sandy or rocky ground between 400 and
1500 m, recorded from the Sidamo and Harege floristic
regions. It is otherwise found in adjacent Somalia and
Kenya. The flowering period in Ethiopia is early in the
rains, from April to June and in November.