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 starting with Ca are pictured on this page.

Gladiolus index -- Southern African Gladiolus A-B -- 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 Se-T -- Southern African Gladiolus U-Z -- Gladiolus Hybrids -- Miscellaneous Gladiolus

Gladiolus caeruleus (syn. Gladiolus gracilis var. latifolia) is found on limestone outcrops and calcareous sands close to the coast in the Southwest Cape. The flowers are pale blue with dark speckles on the lower tepals. It blooms in winter. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller, Mary Sue Ittner and Bob Werra.
Gladiolus caeruleus, Bob Rutemoeller Gladiolus caeruleus, Mary Sue Ittner Gladiolus caeruleus, Bob Werra Gladiolus caeruleus, Bob Werra

Gladiolus cardinalis This very beautiful flower was one of the parent's of modern day hybrids. It grows on wet cliffs and waterfalls in the southwestern Cape area of South Africa and blooms in summer and is pollinated by the mountain pride butterfly. The first photo from Sheila Burrow and the second was taken by Rod Saunders.
Gladiolus cardinalis, Sheila Burrow Gladiolus cardinalis, Silverhill Seeds

Gladiolus carinatus is found on sandstone slopes or deep coastal sands in many areas of the Cape. It flowers late winter to spring and can be blue to violet or yellow, rarely pink, often with yellow markings on the lower tepals. The first photo was taken September 2001 in the southwest Cape and the second shows the flower of a plant grown from seed and blooming March 2004. The first two photos were taken by Mary Sue Ittner and the second two by Bob Werra. The last is a habitat shot taken in the western Cape near Hopefield by Cameron McMaster. The yellow form is from a plant raised from seed by Rhoda McMaster, photographed by Cameron McMaster
Gladiolus carinatus, Mary Sue Ittner Gladiolus carinatus, Mary Sue Ittner Gladiolus carinatus, Bob Werra Gladiolus carinatus, Bob Werra |Gladiolus carinatus, Hopefield, Cameron McMaster Gladiolus carinatus, yellow form, Cameron McMaster

More photographs showing different forms from Alan Horstmann.
Gladiolus carinatus, Alan Horstmann Gladiolus carinatus, Alan Horstmann Gladiolus carinatus, Alan Horstmann

Gladiolus carmineus flowers in the fall before the leaves appear. It is found on coastal sandstone cliffs and rocks and is deep pink to carmine with white makings on the lower tepals. It is naturalizing in Northern California where each year we have more flowers and where it blooms for a long time (different microclimates of our garden.) The first two photos were taken by Bob Rutemoeller. The third photo below was taken by David Victor who writes: "This plant was given to me as Gladiolus uysiae, but is clearly not that species. It flowers in the UK during September, as soon as it comes into growth, the foliage appearing later. Flower stems and foliage are grey-green. Typically four or five flowers on a spike." Photo September, 2005. The last photo is from the summer hemisphere and was taken by Bill Dijk.
Gladiolus carmineus, Bob Rutemoeller Gladiolus carmineus, Bob Rutemoeller Gladiolus carmineus, David Victor Gladiolus carmineus, Bill Dijk

Photos taken in habitat near Hermanus, South Africa by Cameron McMaster.
Gladiolus carmineus, Hermanus, Cameron McMaster Gladiolus carmineus, habitat Hermanus, Cameron McMaster

Gladiolus carneus (syn. G. blandus) has a wide distribution in the winter rainfall area of southern Africa and is found in a variety of habitats. This one seeds set very easily and also increases by cormlets. The first photo was taken by Doug Westfall. The second one was taken June 2003 in Northern California of plants grown from seed, photo by Mary Sue Ittner The last photo was taken by Jana Ulmer of plants grown from the same seed batch as the picture above. In 2004 both her population and Mary Sue's produced a lot of flowers that bloomed a very long time.
Gladiolus carneus, Doug Westfall Gladiolus carneus, Mary Sue Ittner Gladiolus carneus, Jana Ulmer

This form has been a reliable bloomer in our Northern California garden where it is planted in the ground and returns each year. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller and by Kristina Van Wert from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens bulb collection. The third photos was taken in the wild by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg. The last two photos are close-ups taken by Alan Horstmann.
Gladiolus carneus, Bob Rutemoeller Gladiolus carneus, Kristina Van Wert |Gladiolus carneus, Cameron McMaster |Gladiolus carneus, Alan Horstmann |Gladiolus carneus, Alan Horstmann

Gladiolus caroyphyllaceus grows on sandstone flats and slopes in the winter rainfall area, blooms winter to spring and has large pink to mauve flowers that are speckled on the lower tepals and fragrant. This species has naturalized in Western Australia, but in my Northern California garden I have had no increase at all. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner and Bob Werra.
Gladiolus caryophyllaceus, Mary Sue Ittner Gladiolus caryophyllaceus, Bob Werra Gladiolus caryophyllaceus, Alan Horstmann Gladiolus caryophyllaceus, Alan Horstmann

Gladiolus index -- Southern African Gladiolus A-B -- 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 Se-T -- Southern African Gladiolus U-Z -- Gladiolus Hybrids – Miscellaneous Gladiolus

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