Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

236 IRIDACEAE
Description
Habitat and
distribution
Plant 8–30(–45) cm high. Corm globose to ovoid, 7–12 mm in
diameter, tunics dark brown, woody to somewhat membranaceous,
concentric. Leaves 3–4, lower 2(–3) basal and longest, 2–6 mm wide,
about half to two­thirds as long as stem, margins and midrib usually
lightly thickened; upper leaf inserted in the middle of the stem,
short and usually entirely sheathing. Stem erect, very occasionally
branched. Spike (1–)2–6(9–)-flowered; bracts (9–)12–15 mm long.
Flowers pink, lilac or white; perianth tube 6–9 mm long, cylindrical
and straight. Tepals (9–)12–18 mm long, ovate­elliptic, 5–7 mm
wide, outer often flushed darker on the back side. Filaments 3–4
mm long; anthers (3–)4–7.5 mm long. Style branches 6 mm long.
Capsules oblong­ellipsoid, 10–15 mm long.
It grows on rocky sites and short grassland, open hillsides
with some low scrub, often on cliffs and rock outcrops
between 2300 and 4100 m in Tigray, Gonder, Shewa,
Arsi, Gamo Gofa, Sidamo, and Bale floristic regions.
It also occurs in the Sudan, Kenya, Ugan da, Tanzania,
Came roon, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. The main flowering
period in Ethi opia is from August to October.
6. ROMULEA Maratti
The genus is distinguished from other indigenous genera
by the leaves which are terete to oval in transverse section
and have narrow, longitudinal grooves. The flowers are
solitary and radially symmetric.
The genus includes perennials with small, globose
corms with woody to cartilaginous or papery tunics. The
leaves are few to several; the lower cataphylls are 2–3,
entirely sheathing, membranaceous or firm and green; the
foliage leaves are all basal, one to several, linear to more
or less filiform with two narrow longtitudinal grooves on
each surface, oval to terete in transverse section. The
stem is simple or branched, branching usually below
ground. The flowers are solitary and radially symmetric,
cupulate, variously coloured, often yellow in their centre.
The style is dividing at or above the level of the anthers,
and the stylar branches are short, usually divided for half
their length. The capsules are oblong.
The genus contains c. 95 species which are distributed
in southern and tropical Africa, southern Europe and the
Mediterranean region. Its main concentration is in South
Africa, with a secondary centre in the Mediterranean
Basin and Middle East. Three species are known to occur
in Ethiopia, one of them also in Eritrea.