Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

294 ASPARAGACEAE
Description
Habitat and
distribution
Asparagus setaceus
Description
the terminal branches with spines, and flowers with
smaller sized white tepals (c. 3 mm long).
Erect to climbing shrub to 2 m high. Branches glabrous, terete,
smooth or lined with spines 1–3 mm long, curved downwards,
seen also in the terminal branches. Cladodes fasciculate, 2–25(–35)
together, flexible or straight, 13–26 mm long, flattened, angled,
sometimes forming grooves on the upper side. Flowers fasciculate,
3–6 together, axillary or terminal; pedicel 5–8 mm long, articulated
at the middle or below. Tepals white, c. 3 mm long. Stamens shorter
than the perianth; anthers yellow. Ovary 3­locular with 5 ovules in
each locule; style 1 mm long with 3 ­branched stigma. Bracts ovate,
c. 1 mm long, membranaceous. Fruit 4–5 mm in diameter with one
seed
The species grows in Acacia-Commiphora woodland,
between 400 and 1500 m in Tigray, Gonder, Kefa, Gamo
Gofa, Sida mo, and Bale floristic regions in Ethiopia and
in Eritrea. It also occurs in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and
Arabia. The flowering period in Ethiopia is from February
to June; sometimes also from October to December.
3. Asparagus setaceus (Kunth) Jessop
The specific epithet ‘setaceus’ refers to the bristle­like
fine cladodes. The species was described by Kunth in
1850 as Aspara gopsis setacea from a collection made in
South Africa by Drege. It was transferred to the genus
Asparagus by Jessop in 1966. It is also known by the
name A. plumosus.
The species is easily recognised by the fine bristle-like
cladodes which are arranged in one plane. However, it
can sometimes be confused with A. africanus, from which
it is distinguished by the shorter perianth segments c. 3
mm long and the larger berry, 7–10 mm long. In contrast,
A. africanus has longer perianth segments, 4–5 mm long
and a smaller berry, 4–6 mm in diameter.
Climbing shrub to 6 m high. Branches 4x branching, glabrous, terete
or grooved with spines 2–7 mm long, mainly on the main branches;
terminal branches resemble a short stalk, where the flowers are
borne. Cladodes fasciculate, 3–25 together, linear, fine, 3–10 mm
long; final branches and cladodes arranged in the same plane.
Flowers solitary or fasciculate, 2–3 together on terminal branches
(rarely some flowers seen also in an axillary position); pedicels 3–8
mm long, articulated at the middle or below. Bracts minute, falling
more or less quickly. Perianth segments white, ± equal, c. 3 mm long.
Stamens shorter than the perianth; anthers yellow. Ovary 3­locular,