Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

256 IRIDACEAE
Habitat and
distribution
Gladiolus sudanicus
Description
leaves (3–)4–5, at least lower 2 basal and largest, upper 1–2 cauline
and reduced, lanceolate to nearly linear, plane, half to two­third as
long as stem, not reaching base of spike, 4–12(–20) mm at widest.
Stem simple or with 1–2 branches. Spike 2–7(–12)-flowered.
Flowers bright red to orange­red on upper tepals, greenish fading
to yellow on lower tepals, throat and perianth tube; tube 11–16 mm
long; tepals very unequal, dorsal largest, extended horizontally
12–18(–22) mm long, upper laterals directed forward, lanceolate,
8–12(–14) mm long, lower tepals reduced, laterals narrowly
lanceolate, 6­8 mm long, lowermost a linear cusp 3­6 mm long.
Filaments 16–20 mm long, exserted 5–8 mm from tube. Style
ultimately reaching near to apices of anthers, branches 3–4 mm
long, extended beyond anthers and much expanded above. Capsules
globose­ovate, (7–)9–12 mm long.
The species grows in bushland and grassland between
750 and 2900 m in Gojam, Shewa, Arsi floristic regions
in Ethiopia and in Eritrea. It also occurs in Somalia and
Ke nya. The main flowering period in Ethi opia is from
August to October; sometimes also from January to
February.
13. Gladiolus sudanicus Goldblatt
The specific epithet ‘sudanicus’ refers to the country,
Sudan from where the collection of the type specimen
was made.
The species was described by Goldblatt in 1996 from
a plant collected at the Nuba Mountain in the Sudan.
The species can be confused with G. da lenii subsp.
andongensis which also has red flowers. But it is clearly
distingui shed from this subspecies by the shorter perianth
tube (16–20 mm long) in contrast to (25–)35–45 mm
long in G. dalenii. Further, the tepals are uniformly
colored in G. dalenii, but with distinct yellow marks in
G. sudanicus.
Plant 15–20 cm high. Corms 10–12 mm in diameter. Foliage leaves
4–5, lower narrowly lanceolate to linear and about as long as stem,
5–9 mm wide, uppermost smallest and partly to entirely sheathing.
Stem simple, c. 1.5 mm in diameter at base of spike. Spike erect,
2–3-flowered. Flowers red or pale to deep pink, lower 3 tepals
each with a yellow­green median streak outlined in red; perianth
tube 16–20 mm long, arching outward and expanded above; tepals
unequal, narrowly lanceolate, 3 upper 20–24 × 4–5 mm, 3 lower
16–18 mm long and these joined to upper laterals for c. 3 mm.
Filaments 10–12 mm long, exserted 2–3 mm from tube; anthers c.
6.5 mm long, violet, with a short acute apiculus, 0.5–1 mm long.