Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Distribution and
classification
Reproduction
ERIOSPERMACEAE
HYPOXIS CURCULIGO 271
This family is unique by having seeds covered by long
hairs. This trait is not found in other African lilies. It
includes only one genus, which is distributed in sub­
Saharan Africa. The relationship of the family to other
lilies is disputed, and it appears to be an isolated family.
ERIOSPERMUM Jacq.
The genus was described by Jacquin in 1796 and refers to
the hairy seeds (erio = hair, spermum = seeds in Greek).
The plants have prominent more or less globose tubers,
which produce 1–3 leaves, the leaf bases forming a fibrous
neck. The flowering stems are erect and lack leaves. The
inflorescences are racemose carrying yellowish rather
small flowers on long pedicels, supported by minute
bracts. The 3 + 3 tepals are free and patent. The ovary is
sessile and superior, developing into a capsule that opens
with longitudinal slits, and containing 6­12 brownish
seeds that are densely covered with long white hairs.
There is only one other species in Ethiopia with yellow
open flowers similar to those of Eriospermum, and that is
Bulbine abyssinica, which differs by its distinctly hairy
filaments. These are glabrous in Eriospermum.
The genus includes about 100 species and has its centre
of diversity in South Africa. Only two species reach
Ethiopia, where they are rare.
Little is known of pollination, but the flowers are visited
by a wide range of insects, flies, small butterflies and
beetles. Nectar is produced in glands in the walls of the
ovary and is released in the bottom of the flower, where
it is easily accessed. The seeds are effectively wind
dispersed due to their small size, and by being covered
with long hairs. South African species have been used as
food and for different medicinal purposes.