Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

220 COLCHICACEAE
Key to the species
The genus is distinguished from other indigenous
genera in the family by its erect stems, and by the
yellowish, greenish yellow or brownish tepals.
The genus is represented by 15 species distributed in
mainland Africa, Madagascar, India, Australia, and New
Zealand. Of these, two species are known to occur in
Ethiopia.
1. Flowers erect 1. I. pauciflora
- Flowers bending down 2. I. oliveri
Iphigenia pauciflora
Description
Fig. 102.
Iphigenia
pauciflora, from
Blue Nile gorge,
Shewa floristic
region.
1. Iphigenia pauciflora Mart.
The specific epithet ‘pauciflora’ refers to the species
having few (pauci-) flowers (-flora). The species was
described by Mar telli in 1886 with the type material
collected from Keren in Eritrea by Beccari. It was
also known by the name I. abyssi nica, described by
Chiovenda in 1911 from plants collected in Mai Aini,
Tse lemti in the border area between Gonder and Tigray
floristic regions.
Herb 10–30 cm high. Corm subglobose to ovoid, 0.8–1.5 × 0.8–
1.3 cm; tunics brown, muricate. Leaves linear, clasping the stem;
leaf­blade 5.5–15 cm × 1–3 mm. Flowers solitary or 2 in the axils
of leaves, erect. Pedicel 7–32 mm long. Tepals 6, dark­brown to
yellowish to greenish or greenish­yellow, 4–7 × 0.5–0.7 mm.
Stamens with filaments 2.5–3.5 mm long; anther 0.5 mm long.