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!Gladiolus caeruleus Goldblatt & J.C. Manning 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: Novon 6(2): 179. 1996. (Novon) Name publication detailView in BotanicusView in Biodiversity Heritage Library
 

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 6/6/2016)
Acceptance : Accepted
Taxon Profile     (Last Modified On 1/4/2017)
Description: Plants 400–600 mm high. Corm 10–14 mm diam.; tunics hard and woody, splitting from below into claw-like segments. Stem erect or inclined below, upper portion inclined at ± 20°, flexed outward above sheaths of upper 2 leaves, unbranched. Leaves 4, lowermost basal and sheathing lower part of stem, sheath often scabrid below, reaching to between base and apex of spike, linear, 3–7 mm wide, margins raised at right angles to surface, thus H-shaped in section, edges smooth, main vein lightly raised, cauline leaves progressively shorter above and sheathing for at least 1/2 their length, sheaths closed. Spike (4)8–10(14)-flowered, flexed at base, weakly flexuose; bracts greyish green to dull purple-grey, with narrowly membranous margins, 25–35(–40) mm long, inner shorter, margins broadly membranous, barely notched at apex. Flowers pale blue, abaxial side of throat and lower 2/3 of lowertepals irregularly speckled with dark purple on a cream background, lightly scented; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped, ± 15 mm long; tepals obovate and obtuse, dorsal largest, 30–32 × ± 20 mm, curving outward distally, upper laterals spreading distally, ± 25 × 17 mm, lower 3 tepals joined to upper laterals for ± 6 mm and together for a further 2–3 mm, tapering toward bases, subequal, ± 20 × 8–10 mm, obtuse, arching gently outward. Filaments ± 12 mm long, exserted ± 6 mm from tube; anthers 9–10 mm long, pale blue; pollen cream or pale blue. Style arching over stamens, dividing opposite or shortly beyond anther apices, branches ± 4 mm long. Capsules ellipsoid, ± 15 mm long. Seeds ovate, 5–7 × ± 4 mm, broadly and evenly winged. Flowering time: August to mid September.
Country: South Africa
South African Province: Western Cape
Distribution and ecology: a narrow endemic of the Atlantic Coast of Western Cape, from Cape Colombine to Yzerfontein; on limestone outcrops and alkaline and neutral sands in coastal scrub.
Diagnosis: recognized by the lower leaf blade, 3–7 mm wide with broad marginal wings, thus ± H-shaped in section, and the relatively short-tubed, pale blue flowers with obtuse tepals, the lower spotted with dark blue. Gladiolus gracilis from clay soils further inland has narrower leaves 1.5–2.5 3–7 mm wide with the marginal wings curved over the blade, and variously coloured flowers with acute tepals, the lower streaked and spotted.

 


 

Specimens whose coordinates are enclosed in square brackets [ ] have been mapped to a standard reference mark based on political units.
 
 
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