Pancratium centrale (= Mizonia contrails): A Rare Central African Species Discovered in Ethiopia

Abstract

The confused history of the rare species Pancratium centrale (A. Chev.) Traub ( = Mizonia centralis A. Chev.) is presented. The relationship between the genera Mizonia and Pancratium is discussed, and the reduction of the former is supported. The species has so far been collected in only three disjunct localities, in Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic. It has not been recorded for 60 years, until found recently in Ethiopia about 1400 km ENE of the nearest locality in Central Africa. The species description is emended and an illustration provided based on the new material.