Tropicos | Name - !Gladiolus crassifolius Baker

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Iridaceae in sub-Saharan Africa

African Iridaceae > Iridaceae > Gladiolus > Gladiolus crassifolius

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!Gladiolus crassifolius Baker

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Project Name Data (Last Modified On 6/6/2016)

Acceptance : Accepted

Taxon Profile (Last Modified On 12/21/2016)

Description: Plants (250–)350–900(–1 200) mm high. Corm subglobose to depressed-globose, 18–30 mm diam.; tunics leathery to ± coarsely fibrous. Stem erect below, usually flexed outward above sheath of uppermost leaf, simple or 1- to 3-branched. Leaves 4 to 8, mostly basal, sometimes forming a pseudostem, blades narrowly lanceolate to linear, reaching to base of spike or above, 5–12 mm wide, midrib and margins plus two or more pairs of secondary veins hyaline and moderately thickened, cauline leaves progressively shorter blades and uppermost sometimes entirely sheathing. Spike ± erect or weakly inclined, (12)16–22(40)-flowered; bracts usually pale green or flushed purple, soft-textured becoming dry and membranous above in fruit, 15–20(–28) mm long and ± 2 internodes long, acute to attenuate, inner shorter than outer and forked apically. Flowers pale to deep pink or light purple, orange-red or cream, lower lateral,and sometimes lowermost tepals with a band of darker colour across limbs often edged with cream, unscented; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped, 9–17 mm long; tepals broadly ovate, unequal, dorsal largest and arched to hooded over stamens, 18–22 × 10–12 mm, upper laterals directed forward and curving outward above, 18–20 × 16–18 mm, lower 3 tepals ± straight and directed downward, united below for 2–3 mm, narrowed into channeled claws below, lower laterals 12–16 × 5-7 mm, lower median 15–20 × 12 mm. Filaments 12–14 mm long, exserted 6–7 mm from tube; anthers 7–8 mm long, pale lilac to purple; pollen whitish to pale yellow. Style arching over the filaments, usually dividing opposite lower half of anthers, branches ± 3 mm long, seldom reaching past middle of anthers. Capsules obovoid, 9–12(–14) mm long, 3-lobed above and retuse. Seeds elliptic, broadly winged, 4–6 × 2.5–4 mm. Flowering time: mainly February and March, occasionally later or earlier [in tropical Africa usually April to June].

Country: South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi

South African Province: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga

Distribution and ecology: widespread through eastern southern Africa at mid to high elevations, from Eastern Cape near Elliot to Limpopo, Swaziland and into tropical Africa including Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe; in rocky grassland.

Diagnosis: recognized by the dense spike of small flowers with overlapping bracts ± two internodes long and the basal fan of tough, fibrous leaves with the margins and midrib plus one or more pairs of secondary veins thickened and hyaline. The flowers vary greatly in colour but are most frequently pink to salmon or dull purplish with darker nectar guides highlighted with yellow. Plants with orange to coral-pink flowers occur locally in Mpumalanga. The species is often confused with Gladiolus densiflorus, which occurs mainly to the east and at lower elevations but their distribution overlaps along the Mpumalanga escarpment, where G. crassifolius typically flowersslightly later. The flowers in the two species are very similar, although the perianth in G. densiflorus is sometimes finely speckled but the two are most reliably separated by their foliage: the leaves in G. densiflorus are characterized by numerous, fine, closely spaced tertiary veins uninterrupted by evident secondary veins between the margins and main vein. Some plants may, however, be difficult to place. G. serpenticola fromnear Barberton can also be confused with G. crassifolius but is typically a taller plant with erect stems 750–1 500 mm high, less sclerotic leaves, and mostly shorter bracts 12–16 mm long.