Gladiolus

Gladiolus
Gladiolus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Subfamily:	Ixioideae
Tribe:	Ixieae
Genus:	Gladiolus L.
Type species
Gladiolus communis L.
Species
About 260, see text
Synonyms[1]
Antholyza L. Liliogladiolus Trew Cunonia Mill., nom. illeg. Hebea R.Hedw. Anisanthus Sweet Sphaerospora Sweet, nom. inval. Bertera Steud. Petamenes Salisb. ex J.W.Loudon Acidanthera Hochst. Ballosporum Salisb. Homoglossum Salisb. Hyptissa Salisb. Ophiolyza Salisb. Ranisia Salisb. Symphydolon Salisb. Solenanthus Steud. ex Klatt Keitia Regel Oenostachys Bullock Anomalesia N.E.Br. Kentrosiphon N.E.Br. Petamenes Salisb. ex N.E.Br., nom. illeg. Dortania A.Chev. × Gladanthera J.M.Wright × Homoglad Ingram

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae).^[2]

It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but usually by its generic name (plural gladioli).^[3]

The genus occurs in Asia, Mediterranean Europe, South Africa, and tropical Africa. The center of diversity is in the Cape Floristic Region.^[4] The genera Acidanthera, Anomalesia, Homoglossum, and Oenostachys, formerly considered distinct, are now included in Gladiolus.^[5]

Description

The genus Gladiolus contains about 260 species, of which 250 are native to sub-Saharan Africa, mostly South Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa. The flowers of unmodified wild species vary from very small to perhaps 40 mm across, and inflorescences bearing anything from one to several flowers. The spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce are the products of centuries of hybridisation, selection, and perhaps more drastic manipulation.

Gladioli are half-hardy in temperate climates. They grow from rounded, symmetrical corms, that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics.

Their stems are generally unbranched, producing 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved leaves, enclosed in a sheath. The lowest leaf is shortened to a cataphyll. The leaf blades can be plane or cruciform in cross section.

The flower spikes are large and one-sided, with secund, bisexual flowers, each subtended by 2 leathery, green bracts. The sepals and the petals are almost identical in appearance, and are termed tepals. They are united at their base into a tube-shaped structure. The dorsal tepal is the largest, arching over the three stamens. The outer three tepals are narrower. The perianth is funnel-shaped, with the stamens attached to its base. The style has three filiform, spoon-shaped branches, each expanding towards the apex.

The ovary is 3-locular with oblong or globose capsules, containing many, winged brown, longitudinally dehiscent seeds. In their center must be noticeable the specific pellet-like structure which is the real seed without the fine coat. In some seeds this feature is wrinkled with black color. These seeds are unable to germinate.

These flowers are variously colored, pink to reddish or light purple with white, contrasting markings, or white to cream or orange to red.

The South African species were originally pollinated by long-tongued anthrophorine bees, but some changes in the pollination system have occurred, allowing pollination by sunbirds, noctuid and Hawk-moths, long-tongued flies and several others. In the temperate zones of Europe many of the hybrid large flowering sorts of gladiolus can be pollinated by small well-known wasps. Actually, they are not very good pollinators because of the large flowers of the plants and the small size of the wasps. Another insect in this zone which can try some of the nectar of the gladioli is the best-known European Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum which usually pollinates many popular garden flowers like Petunia, Zinnia, Dianthus and others.

Gladioli are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Large Yellow Underwing. The Gladioli is also the official flower of Elmira Ontario in Canada adopted by the council on March 15, 1926.

Gladioli have been extensively hybridized and a wide range of ornamental flower colours are available from the many varieties. The main hybrid groups have been obtained by crossing between four or five species, followed by selection: Grandiflorus, Primulines and Nanus. They make very good cut flowers.

The majority of the species in this genus are diploid with 30 chromosomes but the Grandiflora hybrids are tetraploid and possess 60 chromosomes. This is because the main parental species of these hybrids is Gladiolus dalenii which is also tetraploid and includes a wide range of varieties (like the Grandiflora hybrids).

Species

Gladiolus Bloom, Michigan

Gladiolus Side View, Michigan

Gladiolus alatus, Clanwilliam, RSA

Gladiolus cardinalis
from Curtis's Botanical Magazine 1790

Waved-flowered Gladiolus (Gladiolus undulatus)
from Curtis's Botanical Magazine 1801

Gladiolus hybrid, Grandiflorus group

Gladiolus dalenii

A Gladiolus hybrid

Gladiolus imbricatus

Gladiolus × hortulanus

Gladiolus carneus

Gladiolus × hortulanus 'Priscilla' photographed in visible, ultraviolet (showing Nectar guides), and infrared light

The genus Gladiolus has been divided into many sections. Most species, however, are only tentatively placed. As of June 2014, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts 276 species:^[6]

Known hybrids include:

• Gladiolus × colvillei (G. cardinalis × G. tristis): Colville's gladiolus
• Gladiolus × gandavensis (G. dalenii × G. oppositiflorus) (sect. Ophiolyza)
• Gladiolus × hortulanus

Cultivation

In temperate zones, the corms of most species and hybrids should be lifted in autumn and stored over winter in a frost-free place, then replanted in spring. Some species from Europe and high altitudes in Africa, as well as the small 'Nanus' hybrids, are much hardier (to at least -15 °F/-26 °C) and can be left in the ground in regions with sufficiently dry winters. 'Nanus' is hardy to Zones 5-8. The large-flowered types require moisture during the growing season, and must be individually staked as soon as the sword-shaped flower heads appear. The leaves must be allowed to die down naturally before lifting and storing the corms. Plants are propagated either from small cormlets produced as offsets by the parent corms, or from seed. In either case, they take several years to get to flowering size. Clumps should be dug up and divided every few years to keep them vigorous.

In culture

• The Mancunian singer Morrissey is known to dance with gladioli hanging from his back pocket or in his hands, especially during the era of The Smiths.^[7] This trait of his was made known in the music video for "This Charming Man", where he swung a bunch of yellow gladioli while singing.^[8]
• The Australian comedian and personality Dame Edna Everage's signature flowers are gladioli, which she refers to as "glads".^[9]
• Gladioli are the flowers associated with a fortieth wedding anniversary.
• Gladiolus is the flower of August.
• "Gladiolus" was the word Frank Neuhauser correctly spelled to win the 1st National Spelling Bee in 1925.

• Gladiolus in art
• 
  Vase with Red Gladioli (1886) by Vincent van Gogh
• 
  Gladiole by Philipp Ernst

References

Bibliography

• G R Delpierre and N M du Plessis (1974) - The winter-growing Gladioli of Southern Africa. 120 colour photographs and descriptions; (Tafelberg-Uitgewers Beperk)
• Peter Goldblatt (1996)- A monograph of the genus Gladiolus in tropical Africa (83 species) (Timber Press)
• Peter Goldblatt, J.C. Manning (1998)- Gladiolus in southern Africa : Systematics, Biology, and Evolution, including 144 watercolor paintings; (Fernwood Press, Cape Town)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gladiolus.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Gladiolus.

• Taxonomy of Gladiolus in GBIF Biodiversity Data Portal

• Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). [http://www.africanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?submitForm=true&page_id=77&searchTextMenue=Gladiolus&filterRegionIDs[]=6&filterRegionIDs[]=1&filterRegionIDs[]=2&filterRegionIDs[]=3&filterRegionIDs[]=5 "Gladiolus"]. African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.