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!Gladiolus merianellus (L.) Thunb. Search in The Plant ListSearch in IPNISearch in Australian Plant Name IndexSearch in NYBG Virtual HerbariumSearch in Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleSearch in Type Specimen Register of the U.S. National HerbariumSearch in Virtual Herbaria AustriaSearch in JSTOR Plant ScienceSearch in SEINetSearch in African Plants Database at Geneva Botanical GardenAfrican Plants, Senckenberg Photo GallerySearch in Flora do Brasil 2020Search in Reflora - Virtual HerbariumSearch in Living Collections Decrease font Increase font Restore font
 

Published In: Gladiolus 14. 1784. (Gladiolus) Name publication detailView in BotanicusView in Biodiversity Heritage Library
 

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 12/28/2016)
Acceptance : Accepted
Taxon Profile     (Last Modified On 12/28/2016)
Description: Plants (250–)350–500 mm high, with villous cataphylls. Corm globose, 15–20 mm diam.; tunics leathery to woody, fragmenting into coarse vertical fibres. Stem erect, flexed above sheathing parts of 2 upper leaves but becoming erect again, unbranched. Leaves 3, lower 2 basal, lowermost rarely reaching middle of stem, sheaths villous, blades linear, (2–)4–5.5 mm wide, pubescent, margins and main vein lightly thickened, uppermost leaf inserted on ± middle of stem, short and bract-like, often sparsely pubescent, margins of sheath united. Spike ± erect, lightly flexuose, 2–7-flowered; bracts pale green or flushed grey-purple, outer 15–20(–23) mm long, inner slightly shorter or slightly longer, minutely notched. Flowers bright orange, lower 3 tepals sometimes deep yellow and then usually minutely speckled with scarlet toward bases, rarely entirely yellow, unscented; perianth tube 35–43 mm long, with lower part narrow for 11–18 mm, abruptly expanded into a wide horizontal cylindric upper part 22–25 mm long, ± 7 × 6 mm diam.; tepals broadly obovate to ± orbicular, subequal or upper 3 larger, dorsal typically largest, horizontal, 18–23 × 14–18 mm, upper laterals slightly smaller, 15–18 × 14–15 mm, much overlapping dorsal, lower 3 tepals 12–20 × 10–18 mm, straight and tilted toward ground. Filaments 28–32 mm long, exserted 6–9 mm from mouth of tube; anthers 6–8 mm long, dark purple; pollen pale yellow. Style extending horizontally over stamens, dividing between middle or slightly beyond anther apices, branches 3–4 mm long. Capsules ovoid, subacute, 15–20 mm long. Seeds ovate, 8–10 × 6–7 mm, broadly winged with seed body asymmetrically placed. Flowering time: mainly July to September, occasionally as early as April.
Country: South Africa
South African Province: Western Cape
Distribution and ecology: endemic to the southern Cape Peninsula, from Silvermine to Cape Point; on seasonally wet flats and plateaus in peaty soils, flowering well after fire.
Diagnosis: distinctive in its pubescent leaves and orange or yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers with dimorphic perianth tube 35–43 mm long, the lower part narrow for 11–18 mm and abruptly expanded into a wide horizontal cylindric upper part 22–25 mm long, with subequal, broadly obovate to suborbicular tepals.

 
 
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