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Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

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Fig. 127.<br />

Asparagus<br />

setaceus,<br />

cultivated plant,<br />

Addis Ababa.<br />

Habitat <strong>and</strong><br />

distribution<br />

Asparagus flagellaris<br />

ASPARAGUS 295<br />

with 6–8 ovules in each locule; style 1 mm long, 3­branched. Fruit<br />

red, 7–8(–10) mm in diameter, with 1–3seeds.<br />

The species grows in forests <strong>and</strong> forest margins between<br />

500 <strong>and</strong> 2400 m in Shewa, Bale, Kefa, Illubabor <strong>and</strong><br />

Wellega floristic regions, in areas with relatively high<br />

rainfall. The species also occurs through eastern Africa<br />

south to South Africa. In <strong>Ethiopia</strong> the species flowers<br />

almost throughout the year, but mainly from January to<br />

May <strong>and</strong> from September to December.<br />

4. Asparagus flagellaris (Kunth) Baker<br />

The specific epithet ‘flagellaris’ refers to the whip­like<br />

(flagellum) cladodes. The species was described by<br />

Kunth in 1850 as Asparagopsis flagellaris from plants<br />

collected in Senegambia. It was transferred to Asparagus<br />

by Baker in 1875. The species has also been known under<br />

the names A. schweinfurthii <strong>and</strong> A. abyssinicus.<br />

The species is easily recognised from other species in<br />

the area by the purplish stems with hooked spines, <strong>and</strong> the<br />

solitary or paired white flowers with a purplish tinge.

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