Gladiolus species on this page are not from Southern Africa. Most are Eurasian with additional African species from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
Gladiolus index - Southern African Gladiolus A-B - Southern African Gladiolus Ca - Southern African Gladiolus Ce-E - Southern African Gladiolus F-H - Southern African Gladiolus I-Me -- Southern African Gladiolus Mi-Pa - Southern African Gladiolus Pe-R - Southern African Gladiolus S-T - Southern African Gladiolus U-Z - Gladiolus Hybrids
Gladiolus atroviolaceus Plant grown from seed purchased from Jim and Jenny Archibald as Gladiolus antakiensis but not that species. G. atroviolaceus is native to Greece, Turkey, Iraq and Iran and has deep violet-purple flowers and blooms spring to summer. Photo by Jane McGary
Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus is native to southern Spain, Sicily, and northern Africa. It is deep purple-red with narrow, paler marks outlined in dark purple on the lower lobes. These plants were blooming at Kew Gardens in May 2004. Photo by Bob Rutemoeller.
Gladiolus illyricus is native to south and west Europe and the Mediterranean region, growing on heaths, in scrub and open woods. It flowers April to August and is similar to G. communis with flowers facing in two directions but is usually shorter with 3 to 10 flowers on a rarely branched stem. Flowers are magenta purple with white markings on the lower 3 lobes. Photos taken by Mary Sue Ittner of plants grown from seed labeled this and hopefully are correctly identified.
Gladiolus imbricatus is native to southeastern Europe and Turkey. It grows in wet meadows and marshes and flowers from May to July. It has a dense spike of 4 to 12 pale carmine to deep purple flowers, streaked purple and white. Its lowest leaf is round or blunt, not sharp which is another distinguishing characteristic.
Gladiolus italicus has a broad distribution from southern Europe to parts of Asia growing on rocky hillsides, grassy areas, open forests and in fields. It flowers from March to July. It is distinguished from other European Gladiolus by having anthers that are longer than the filaments. Flowers are loosely arranged and facing various directions, pale pink as well as purple-pink to magenta with a pale blotch outlined in purple on the lower lobes. There are 5 to 15 flowers on the spike. The first two photos taken by Mary Sue Ittner illustrates a flower of a plant grown from seed labeled G. italicus and the second is a close-up taken in habitat by Angelo Porcelli.
Gladiolus murielae syn. Acidanthera bicolor , Gladiolus callianthus , and Acidanthera murielae is a species with a wide distribution from northeastern Africa southward to Mozambique. It is often sold or described under the Acidanthera synonyms. It is most common in northern Ethiopia. This species has long tubed white flowers with dark purple markings in the midline on the lower tepals or all tepals and is fragrant, more strongly at night. Since it comes from a tropical climate, it is often protected in colder climates and dug in the winter and stored and replanted after the last frost so that it will be summer growing, blooming late summer into fall. Photo by Arnold Trachtenberg of plants blooming in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Gladiolus palustris white form. This species is native to central and northwestern Europe, the most northerly range in the genus, and is suitable for ordinary to moist border conditions. The normal flower color is rosy violet. The pictured white form was grown from seed sent by Ole Olsen of Norway, who cultivates the parent plants as a "blue" form. Photo by Jane McGary. This species faces only one direction and does not have more than 6 flowers on a spike. We have been told this may be misnamed, but have not been given another name.
Gladiolus sp. The photo below shows a plant grown from seed obtained from Monocot Nursery under the name Gladiolus dubius, which I cannot verify. The Kew monocot list states that name is an invalid name for Gladiolus italicus. It has relatively large flowers for a Eurasian species. Photo by Jane McGary
Gladiolus watsonioides is found on the mountains of Kenya and northern Tanzania, growing from 2600 m to 3900 m. It is not quite a true alpine, but not far off. There is a frost almost every night and the plant copes with this well at all stages of its growth. With the almost constant daylength and general conditions through the year the plant can remain active without going dormant. This evergreen habit is maintained in cultivation & the plants remain green throughout the year if kept moist, but they can go dormant if they dry out. I have stocks from both mountains (Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya) and they grow equally well in a gritty, humus-rich compost in deep pots in a frost-free greenhouse, but there is no doubt that the Mt Kenya version is the one to grow. Description and photos by John Grimshaw. The last two images are of the Mt. Kenya version.
Gladiolus index - Southern African Gladiolus A-B - Southern African Gladiolus Ca - Southern African Gladiolus Ce-E - Southern African Gladiolus F-H - Southern African Gladiolus I-Me -- Southern African Gladiolus Mi-Pa - Southern African Gladiolus Pe-R - Southern African Gladiolus S-T - Southern African Gladiolus U-Z - Gladiolus Hybrids