Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Habitat and
distribution
Gladiolus candicus
Description
Habitat and
distribution
ZYGOTRITONIA GLADIOLUS 259
perianth tube cylindrical and straight, slightly wider near throat,
(90–)120–150 mm long; tepals more or less equal, lanceolate,
35–45 × 17–22 mm. Filaments exserted for 10–15 mm long. Style
arching over stamens, dividing beyond anthers, branches c. 5 mm
long, much expanded in upper half. Capsules oblong­ellipsoid,
20–25 mm long.
The species grows in the highlands in rocky, partly shaded
places, on cliffs, rocky outcrops, and in forest margins
between 1800 and 2400 m in Tigray, Gonder, Shewa,
and Wellega floristic regions. It also occurs in Bu rundi,
Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. The main flowering
period in Ethiopia is from July to September.
16. Gladiolus candidus (Rendle) Gold blatt
The specific epithet ‘candidus’ refers to the pure glossy
white flowers. The species was described by Rendle 1895
as Acid anthera candida from a plant collected in Athi
Plains, Lanjaro in Kenya by Gregory. The name was later
transferred to the genus Gladiolus by Goldblatt in 1995.
G. murielae, G. candidus, and G. gunnisii are the only
three species in Ethiopia with a perianth tube twice as
long as the tepals. G. candidus is distinguished from the
closely related G. murielae by the perianth tube commonly
being 80–100 mm long, and the uniformly white tepals.
G. murielae has a perianth tube that is 120–150 mm long,
and the tepals have dark purple marks.
Plant 20–40 cm high. Corm globose, 12–25 mm in diameter. Foliage
leaves 2–3, all more or less basal, narrowly lanceolate, about half
as long as stem, 5–10 mm wide. Stem erect, unbranched, c. 2.5 mm
in diameter below first flower. Spike erect, 2–4-flowered. Flowers
white (rarely pink), occasionally with purple median lines, sweetly
scented; perianth tube (70–)80–100 mm long, more or less straight
and cylindrical; tepals sub equal, broadly lanceolate to elliptic, (20–
)25–30 × c. 15 mm. Filaments exserted for 10–15 mm long. Style
dividing opposite anther apices, bran ches 5–7 mm long, often broad
and fringed above. Capsules narrowly elliptic to obo vate, 18–22
mm long.
The species grows in woodland and dry grassland
between 1450 and 2250 m in Arsi, Sidamo, Bale, and
Harerge floristic regions. It also occurs in Djibouti,
Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Oman.