There are about 163 species (with new ones being discovered) in the area south of the Tropic of Capricorn and including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique. Some are found in winter rainfall areas and some in summer rainfall areas. For more information see Goldblatt and Manning, 1998. Southern African species from Se-T are pictured on this page.
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-Sc –- Southern African Gladiolus U-Z -- Gladiolus Hybrids -- Miscellaneous Gladiolus
Gladiolus serpenticola is endemic to the Barberton District of Mpumalanga, South Africa where it grows in serpentine soils. It is tall (75-150 cm) with small pale pink flowers with pale mauve markings on the lower lateral tepals. Photo by Rod Saunders.
Gladiolus speciosus is found in deep sandy soils in the Northwest and Southwest Cape. It is similar to Gladiolus alatus with 2 to 8 flowers in a spike, orange marked yellow to greenish and hooded over the stamens. One of the distinguishing characteristics is that it is colored yellow on the reverse. Photos taken in the western Cape near Darling September 2006 by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner.
Gladiolus splendens , formerly known as Anomalesia splendens , is found in rocky clay, mostly near streams in the Roggeveld and the Calvinia district. The bright red flowers are formed in a stongly inclined spike. Photographed below by Mary Sue Ittner near Middelpos September 2006 and by Bob Rutemoeller in a garden in Calvinia.
Gladiolus stefaniae grows in the mountains of the southern Cape.on rocky slopes in gullies that are wet. This species flowers at the end of the dry hot summer after the weather has become cooler and it has started to rain. The flowering stem is produced before the leaf. Flowers are red with a median white streak in the lower two-thirds of the lower three tepals.
Gladiolus subcaeruleus grows on sandy loam and clay slopes in renosterveld in the southwestern Cape and flowers in the fall. It is described as having pale blue to mauve flowers with yellow transverse to spear shaped markings outlined in purple on the lower tepals. The dorsal tepal is hooded over the stamens. Photos taken by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg, Bot River and Napier show variations from the description.
Gladiolus teretifolius (syn. Homoglossom muirii) is a rare plant found in the southern Cape growing in heavy soils in renosterveld. It has scarlet flowers and blooms fall to winter. Photos taken by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg, Bredasdorp and Agulhas.
Gladiolus trichonemifolius is found on wet sandy flats in the winter rainfall areas. It blooms late winter early spring and is cream to yellow with brown lines on the lower tepals and a yellowish center. This form (syn. Gladiolus citrinus) has a cupped perianth and a dark purple blotch in the center and is very different. The first two photos by Bob Rutemoeller show this form. The last two by Mary Sue Ittner and Alan Horstmann shows the normal form.
Gladiolus tristis is one of the more widespread species in the winter rainfall regions. It is often found in dense colonies on damp flats, but can be found near sea level to high elevations. It is nicknamed the marsh Afrikaner and can be found in marshy areas, but also on banks above streams, in poorly drained seeps or on cool south-facing slopes. The time of bloom varies by populations. It produces a lot of little cormlets around the base of the corm and can spread to other pots if soil is reused. Photos by Sheila Burrow
Doug Westfall and Alan Horstmann.
I grow two forms. One is light yellow and blooms March to April. It is only slightly fragrant at night. It is the first one pictured below. The second form pictured below in the next two pictures is a late blooming form, once known as Gladiolus tristis var aestivalis , but not recognized as a variety by Goldblatt and Manning. These plants were grown from IBSA seed collected near Paarl where they grow in wet boggy areas that are shady. This form is very fragrant at night when the flowers are open wider as well. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner .
Habitat shots taken by Bob Rutemoeller September 2003 at Drayton and Cameron McMaster at Bredasdorp.
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-Sc -- Southern African Gladiolus U-Z -- Gladiolus Hybrids -- Miscellaneous Gladiolus
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