Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Key to genera
DRACAENA 275
1. Plant a tree or shrub with a woody trunk 1. Dracaena
- Plant a herb, without a woody trunk 2. Sansevieria
Key to the species
1. DRACAENA L.
The genus includes trees or shrubs with a more or
less woody stem; usually with orange roots. Leaves
sessile, linear to lanceolate. The inflorescence is a
large panicle with 2 or more flowers in each floral
bract. The flowers are white or pale green, fragrant
and opening at night. The tepal­lobes are spreading or
recurved. The stamens are slender or thickened. The
fruit is a globose, coloured berry with 1–3 seeds.
The genus includes about 80 or more species,
mainly in Africa. It is represented by 5 species in the
Flora area.
1. Leaves oblanceolate, sometimes variegated in cultivated plants; flowers in
conspicuous spherical multi-flowered heads 3. D. fragrans
- Leaves sword or dagger-shaped; flowers variously arranged, not in
multi-flowered heads 2
2. Leaves distinctly succulent, about 1 cm thick at the base, margins minutely
scabrid 4. D. ombet
- Leaves much thinner, leathery, margins smooth 3
3. Trees; fully developed leaves more than 80 cm long; ripe fruits dark
purplish maroon 5. D. steudneri
- Trees or shrubs; fully developed leaves not more than 70 cm long;
ripe fruits orange 4
4. Usually producing several stems from a common base; inflorescence
erect, not reflexed; perianth up to 10 mm long 2. D. ellenbeckiana
- Usually one main trunk and many branches; inflorescence sharply
reflexed; perianth 15 mm long 1. D. afromontana