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Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

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Fig. 114.<br />

Gladiolus<br />

abyssinicus, from<br />

Gonder floristic<br />

region.<br />

Habitat <strong>and</strong><br />

distribution<br />

Gladiolus<br />

schweinfurthii<br />

Description<br />

ZYGOTRITONIA GLADIOLUS 255<br />

It grows in the highl<strong>and</strong>s, in well­watered grassl<strong>and</strong>, cliffs<br />

<strong>and</strong> rock outcrops, <strong>and</strong> stream sides mostly between 2000<br />

<strong>and</strong> 3350 m in Tigray, Gonder, Gojam, Welo, Shewa, Bale,<br />

<strong>and</strong> Harerge floristic regions in <strong>Ethiopia</strong> <strong>and</strong> in <strong>Eritrea</strong>. It<br />

also occurs in Saudi Arabia. The main flowering period<br />

in <strong>Ethiopia</strong> is from August to October.<br />

12. Gladiolus schweinfurthii (Baker) Goldblatt &<br />

de Vos<br />

The specific epithet ‘schweinfurthii’ was given in<br />

honour <strong>of</strong> the collector, Georg Schweinfurth from whose<br />

collection the type <strong>of</strong> the species was designated. The<br />

species was described by Baker in 1894 as Antholyza<br />

schweinfurthii from a plant collected in <strong>Eritrea</strong> without<br />

a precise locality. The name was later transferred to the<br />

genus Gladiolus by Goldblatt <strong>and</strong> de Vos in 1989.<br />

The species is closely related to <strong>and</strong> pos sibly not<br />

separate from G. abyssinicus, but distinguished by its<br />

shorter perianth tube (11–16 mm long). In contrast G.<br />

abys sinicus has perianth tube 27–32 mm long.<br />

Plant (30–)50–75 cm high. Corm 8–15 mm in diameter. Foliage

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