Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

208 ALLIACEAE
5. Umbel without bracteoles; anthers shorter than the perianth; leaves hairy
at least along the margins 1. A. subhirsutum
- Umbel with a ring of scarious bracteoles; anthers longer than the perianth;
leaves smooth 2. A. alibile
Allium subhirsutum
Description
Habitat and
distribution
1. Allium subhirsutum Linnaeus
The specific epithet ‘subhirsutum’ refers to the hairy
nature of the plants. It was described by Linnaeus in 1753
from a plant deposited in the Linnean herbarium.
The species is distinguished from the next species by
its umbel without brac te oles and the leaves hairy at least
along the mar gins. The herb smells mildly of garlic when
crushed. Only one of the subspeci es is represented in the
Flora area.
subsp. spathaceum (Steud. ex . A. Rich). Dufjes
The subspecific epithet ‘spathaceum’ refers to the conspicuous
spathes (bracts surrounding the in flo rescence).
The name of the subspecies was proposed by Steud ner
and properly described as A. spatha ceum by A. Richard
in 1851 from a plant collected in Demerki in Semien,
Gonder floristic region. The taxon was later reduced to a
subspecies by Dufjes in 1976.
Bulb globose to ovoid. Leaves 1–3, linear, flat or slightly keeled,
8–50 × 0.2–2 cm, hairy along the margins; sheaths 1.5–14 cm,
mostly below ground, glabrous or hairy particularly at the top.
Inflorescence stem solitary, rarely 2–3, solid, uniform in thickness.
Inflorescence an umbel or sphae rical cluster, 2–7 cm in diameter,
few to many flowered. Pedicels 10–40 cm long. Perianth segments
white, elliptic or oblong, 5–9 mm long. Capsule subglobose, 3–6
mm in diameter. Seeds black.
It grows in grassy meadows between 1750 and 3500 m
in Gonder and Harerge floristicregions in Ethiopia, and
in Eritrea. It also occurs in northern Sudan and northern
Somalia. The main flowering period in Ethiopia is in
August to October.