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 F-H are pictured on this page.
Gladiolus index -- Southern African Gladiolus A-B -- Southern African Gladiolus Ca -- Southern African Gladiolus Ce-E -- Southern African Gladiolus I-Me -- Southern African Gladiolus Mi-Pa –- Southern African Gladiolus Pe-Sc -- Southern African Gladiolus Se-T -- Southern African Gladiolus U-Z -- Gladiolus Hybrids -- Miscellaneous Gladiolus
Gladiolus flanaganii grows in the Drakensburg mountains in Kwa Zulu-Natal which form the border between Lesotho and South Africa. These photographs are of a wild collected material recently given to me by Danish friends. Photos David Victor
Gladiolus floribundus grows on dry clay, sandy or limestone flats and slopes over a broad area of the winter rainfall Cape. It has white to cream or pinkish flowers with a dark median streak on all of the tepals and blooms in spring. Photos by Cameron McMaster taken near Napier in the Overberg.
Gladiolus fourcadei grows in a variety of soils in the Uniondale district of the Southern Cape. It has small, greenish yellow flowers with reddish veins and spots. Photo taken by Rod Saunders.
Gladiolus geardii (syn. Gladiolus robustus) is a late spring to summer bloomer found on moist sandstone slopes in the southeastern Cape. In cultivation it is not dormant long. It is hard to photograph if there is light since the dorsal tepal is inclined and casts a shadow on the lower tepals. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller. The second one was taken early in the morning before the light hit the flowers.
Gladiolus gracilis is very similar to Gladiolus caeruleus, but is a bit smaller, has fewer flowers (2 to 5 in a spike) is usually blue to grey, but occasionally pink or yellowish and has dark streaks (instead of spots) on the lower tepals and the lower most tepal is usually longer in this species instead of mostly the same length as the others in G. caeruleus. It is found mostly on clay slopes (or granite) and blooms in winter. The first picture was taken by Mary Sue Ittner March 2004 of flowers grown from Silverhill Seed and the second in 2007 of more seed grown plants, but this time one with pink flowers. The third photo was taken by Bob Werra and the fourth by Alan Horstmann.
All of the pictures below were taken by Cameron McMaster near Napier in the Overberg and illustrate the different forms possible.
Gladiolus grandiflorus grows on clay slopes in the renosterveld in areas with winter rainfall and some year round rainfall. Mine, grown from seed, have creamy white flowers marked in red and bloom late April, early May each year. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Gladiolus guthriei occurs on rocky sandstone outcrops in the Western Cape. Main flowering time is April to June. Photos taken in Napier and Villiersdorp in the Overberg by Cameron McMaster
Gladiolus hirsutus (Gladiolus punctulatus) is found or rocky sandstone slopes in the winter rainfall areas. It is pink to purple or white with darker streaking on the lower three tepals. The first photo was taken in the southwestern Cape in September 2001 in an area that had burned the year before. The next two were taken in August 2006 near the Du Toit Kloof mountain pass where we saw these blooming down the slope when we stopped to look at the view. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner including a close-up of the latter where holding the flower helped to get the plant in focus because it was so windy.
Photos by Bob Werra and Alan Horstmann of garden plants and more habitat photos from Cameron McMaster from Hermanus and Napier in the Overberg
Gladiolus huttonii is found on sandstone slopes in the southeastern Cape and flowers winter to spring. It has red to orange flowers with the lower tepals sometimes yellow. The first photo was taken by Bob Rutemoeller of a plant grown by Alan Horstmann. The next two pictures were taken by Mary Sue Ittner. Photos of many interesting hybrids of this species are found on the Gladiolus hybrids wiki page.
Gladiolus hyalinus is a wide spread species in the winter-rainfall region where it is found from Namaqualand to the southwestern Cape and in a couple of places in the southern Cape and the Eastern Cape. In the Cape Flora region it is found in transitional fynbos and in Namaqualand on granite derived sand or clay. It flowers from winter into spring depending on the elevation. Flowers are light to reddish brown on a pale cream background. There are dark spots and streaks on the throat. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Gladiolus index -- Southern African Gladiolus A-B -- Southern African Gladiolus Ca -- Southern African Gladiolus Ce-E -- Southern African Gladiolus I-Me -- Southern African Gladiolus Mi-Pa –- Southern African Gladiolus Pe-Sc -- Southern African Gladiolus Se-T -- Southern African Gladiolus U-Z -- Gladiolus Hybrids -- Miscellaneous Gladiolus
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