Gladiolus

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Gladiolus
0 Gladiolus italicus - Samoens (1).JPG
Gladiolus italicus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Crocoideae
Tribe: Gladioleae
Genus: Gladiolus
L.
Type species
Gladiolus communis
L.
Species

About 260, see text

Synonyms [1]
× Gladanthera J.M.Wright
× Homoglad Ingram

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius , a sword [2] ) is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). [3]

Contents

Gladiolus italicus, Behbahan Gladiolus Italicus, Behbahan.jpg
Gladiolus italicus, Behbahan

It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but is usually called by its generic name (plural gladioli). [4]

The genus occurs in Asia, Mediterranean Europe, South Africa, and tropical Africa. The center of diversity is in the Cape Floristic Region. [5] The genera Acidanthera, Anomalesia, Homoglossum, and Oenostachys, formerly considered distinct, are now included in Gladiolus. [6]

Description

Gladioli grow from round, symmetrical corms [7] (similar to crocuses) that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics. [8]

Their stems are generally unbranched, producing 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved leaves, enclosed in a sheath. [2] The lowest leaf is shortened to a cataphyll. The leaf blades can be plane or cruciform in cross section.

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 and selection.

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. [9]

The ovary is 3-locular with oblong or globose capsules, [9] containing many, winged brown, longitudinally dehiscent seeds.

Gladiolus italicus, Behbahan, Iran glyl shmshyry wHshy bhbhn.jpg
Gladiolus italicus, Behbahan, Iran

These flowers are variously coloured, ranging from pink to reddish or light purple with white, contrasting markings, or white to cream or orange to red. [10]

Ecology

The South African species were originally pollinated by long-tongued anthophorini bees, [11] but some changes in the pollination system have occurred, allowing pollination by sunbirds, noctuid and Hawk-moths, long-tongued flies and several others. [12] 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. [13]

Gladioli are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Large Yellow Underwing, [14] and gladiolus thrips. [15]

Horticulture

Wild Gladiolus italicus corms of different ages and sizes (from Behbahan) Gladiolus Italicus Bulbs, Behbahan, Iran.jpg
Wild Gladiolus italicus corms of different ages and sizes (from Behbahan)

Gladioli have been extensively hybridized and a wide range of ornamental flower colours are available from the many varieties. [10] The main hybrid groups have been obtained by crossing between four or five species, followed by selection: 'Grandiflorus', 'Primulines' and 'Nanus'. They can make very good cut flowers for display. [10]

The majority of the species in this genus are diploid with 30 chromosomes (2n=30) but the Grandiflora hybrids are tetraploid and possess 60 chromosomes (2n=4x=60). 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). [10]

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 −26 °C or −15 °F) 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. [15]

They are affected by thrips, (thrip simplex), [15] [16] and wasps Dasyproctus bipunctatus , which burrow into the flowers causing them to collapse and die. [17]

Numerous garden cultivars have been developed, of which ‘Robinetta’ (a G. recurvus hybrid), with pink flowers, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [18] [19]

In culture

Species

The genus Gladiolus contains about 300 species, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families had over 276 species in 1988, [10] As of February 2017, it accepted 300 species. [28]

There are 260 species of Gladiolus endemic to southern Africa, [7] and 76 in tropical Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. [29]

The genus Gladiolus has been divided into many sections. Most species, however, are only tentatively placed.

Known hybrids include:


Related Research Articles

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<i>Freesia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1886) and named after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese (1795-1876). It is native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most species being found in Cape Provinces. Species of the former genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia. The plants commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia species. Some other species are also grown as ornamental plants.

<i>Ixia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Ixia is a genus of cormous plants native to South Africa from the family Iridaceae. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include sword-like leaves and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. It usually prefers well-drained soil. The popular corn lily has specific, not very intense fragrance. It is often visited by many insects such as bees. The Ixia are also used sometimes as ornamental plants. The genus is endemic to the Cape Provinces of western South Africa.

<i>Watsonia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the iris family Iridaceae

Watsonia is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, subfamily Crocoideae. Watsonias are native to southern Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th-century British botanist.

<i>Ferraria</i> Genus of flowering plants

Ferraria is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, native to tropical and southern Africa. They are herbaceous corm-bearing plants growing to 30–45 cm tall. Some species have an unpleasant scent similar to rotting meat and are pollinated by flies, while others have a pleasant scent. The genus name is a tribute to Italian Jesuit Botanist and botanical artist Giovanni Baptista Ferrari.

<i>Tritonia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Tritonia is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family first described as a genus in 1802. They are naturally distributed across southern Africa, with a high concentration of species in Cape Province of western South Africa. The genus is closely related to the genus Ixia.

<i>Moraea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Moraea, the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English botanist Robert More.

<i>Trachyandra</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae

Trachyandra is a genus of plant in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae, first described as a genus in 1843. It is native to eastern and southern Africa, as well as to Yemen and Madagascar. Many of the species are endemic to South Africa.

  1. Trachyandra acocksiiOberm. - Cape Province in South Africa
  2. Trachyandra adamsonii(Compton) Oberm. - Cape Province, Namibia
  3. Trachyandra affinisKunth - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal
  4. Trachyandra arenicolaJ.C.Manning & Goldblatt - Cape Province
  5. Trachyandra aridimontanaJ.C.Manning - Cape Province
  6. Trachyandra arvensis(Schinz) Oberm. - Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia
  7. Trachyandra asperataKunth - South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini
  8. Trachyandra brachypoda(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  9. Trachyandra bulbinifolia(Dinter) Oberm. - Cape Province, Namibia
  10. Trachyandra burkei(Baker) Oberm. - Botswana, Limpopo, Free State, Cape Province
  11. Trachyandra capillata(Poelln.) Oberm. - KwaZulu-Natal
  12. Trachyandra chlamydophylla(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  13. Trachyandra ciliata(L.f.) Kunth - Cape Province, Namibia
  14. Trachyandra dissectaOberm. - Cape Province
  15. Trachyandra divaricata(Jacq.) Kunth - Cape Province; naturalized in Australia
  16. Trachyandra ensifolia (Sölch) Roessler - Namibia
  17. Trachyandra erythrorrhiza(Conrath) Oberm. - Gauteng
  18. Trachyandra esterhuysenaeOberm. - Cape Province
  19. Trachyandra falcata(L.f.) Kunth - Cape Province, Namibia
  20. Trachyandra filiformis(Aiton) Oberm. - Cape Province
  21. Trachyandra flexifolia(L.f.) Kunth - Cape Province
  22. Trachyandra gerrardii(Baker) Oberm. - Eswatini, South Africa
  23. Trachyandra giffenii(F.M.Leight.) Oberm. - Cape Province
  24. Trachyandra glandulosa(Dinter) Oberm. - Namibia
  25. Trachyandra gracilentaOberm. - Cape Province
  26. Trachyandra hantamensisBoatwr. & J.C.Manning - Cape Province
  27. Trachyandra hirsuta(Thunb.) Kunth - Cape Province
  28. Trachyandra hirsutiflora(Adamson) Oberm. - Cape Province
  29. Trachyandra hispida(L.) Kunth - Cape Province
  30. Trachyandra involucrata(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  31. Trachyandra jacquiniana(Schult. & Schult.f.) Oberm. - Cape Province
  32. Trachyandra kamiesbergensisBoatwr. & J.C.Manning - Cape Province
  33. Trachyandra karrooicaOberm. - Cape Province, Namibia
  34. Trachyandra lanata(Dinter) Oberm. - Namibia
  35. Trachyandra laxa(N.E.Br.) Oberm. - South Africa, Namibia, Botswana
  36. Trachyandra malosana(Baker) Oberm. - Malawi to Zimbabwe
  37. Trachyandra mandrarensis(H.Perrier) Marais & Reilly - Madagascar
  38. Trachyandra margaretaeOberm. - Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal
  39. Trachyandra montanaJ.C.Manning & Goldblatt - Cape Province
  40. Trachyandra muricata(L.f.) Kunth - Cape Province, Namibia
  41. Trachyandra oligotricha(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  42. Trachyandra paniculataOberm. - Cape Province
  43. Trachyandra patensOberm. - Cape Province
  44. Trachyandra peculiaris(Dinter) Oberm. - Namibia
  45. Trachyandra proliferaP.L.Perry - Cape Province
  46. Trachyandra pyrenicarpa(Welw. ex Baker) Oberm. Huíla Province in Angola
  47. Trachyandra revoluta(L.) Kunth - Cape Province, Namibia
  48. Trachyandra sabulosa(Adamson) Oberm. - Cape Province
  49. Trachyandra saltii(Baker) Oberm. - eastern + southern Africa from Ethiopia to Cape Province; Yemen
  50. Trachyandra sanguinorhizaBoatwr. & J.C.Manning - Cape Province
  51. Trachyandra scabra(L.f.) Kunth - Cape Province
  52. Trachyandra smallianaHilliard & B.L.Burtt - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal
  53. Trachyandra tabularis(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  54. Trachyandra thyrsoidea(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  55. Trachyandra tortilis(Baker) Oberm. - Cape Province
  56. Trachyandra triquetraThulin - Somalia
  57. Trachyandra zebrina(Schltr. ex Poelln.) Oberm. - Cape Province
<i>Romulea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Romulea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1772. It is distributed in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa.

<i>Aristea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Aristea is a genus of evergreen, perennial and rhizomatous species of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described in 1789. The genus is distributed in tropical and southern Africa, as well as Madagascar. The genus name is derived from the Greek word arista, meaning "awn".

<i>Hesperantha</i> Genus of flowering plants

Hesperantha is a genus of cormous flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. The genus name is derived from the Greek words hesperos, meaning "evening", and anthos, meaning "flower".

<i>Tritoniopsis</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Tritoniopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1926. The entire genus is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa. The genus name refers to the African genus Tritonia and is combined with the Greek word opsis, meaning "look-alike".

<i>Albuca</i> Genus of plants

Albuca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. The genus is distributed mainly in southern and eastern Africa, with some species occurring in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Plants of the genus are known commonly as slime lilies.

<i>Drimia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Drimia is a genus of African, south European and south Asian flowering plants. In the APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. When broadly circumscribed, the genus includes a number of other genera previously treated separately, including Litanthus, Rhodocodon, Schizobasis and Urginea.

References

  1. "Gladiolus". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 Perry, Dr. Leonard. "Gladiolus". pss.uvm.edu. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  3. Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 138–42. ISBN   978-0-88192-897-6.
  4. Shorter Oxford English dictionary: 6th edition. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. ISBN   978-0199206872.
  5. Goldblatt, P. &, J.C. Manning. Gladiolus in Southern Africa : Systematics, Biology, and Evolution. Fernwood Press, Cape Town; 1998.
  6. Goldblatt, P.; De Vos, M. P. (1989). "The reduction of Oenostachys, Homoglossum and Anomalesia, putative sunbird pollinated genera, in Gladiolus L. (Iridaceae-Ixioideae)". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Section B. 11 (4): 417–428.
  7. 1 2 Trevor R. Hodkinson and John A.N. Parnell (Editors) Reconstructing the Tree of Life: Taxonomy and Systematics of Species Rich Taxa , p. 158, at Google Books
  8. "The Purple Gladiolus". wordpress.com. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  9. 1 2 William Berman How to Dissect , p. 207, at Google Books
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 A. Mujib (Editor) Somatic Embryogenesis in Ornamentals and Its Applications , p. 188, at Google Books
  11. Goldblatt, Peter; Manning, John C.; Bernhardt, Peter (October 1997). "Notes on the Pollination of Gladiolus brevifolius (Iridaceae) by Bees (Anthophoridae) and Bee Mimicking Flies (Psilodera: Acroceridae)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 70 (4): 297–304. JSTOR   25085792.
  12. Goldblatt, Peter; Manning, John C. (2006). "Radiation of Pollination Systems in the Iridaceae of sub-Saharan Africa". Ann. Bot. 97 (3): 317–344. doi:10.1093/aob/mcj040. PMC   2803647 . PMID   16377653.
  13. Alexandersson, R; Johnson, SD. (2002). "Pollinator-mediated selection on flower-tube length in a hawkmoth-pollinated Gladiolus (Iridaceae)". Proc R Soc Lond B. 269 (1491): 631–636. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1928. PMC   1690929 . PMID   11916480.
  14. David J. Carter Pest Lepidoptera of Europe: With Special Reference to the British Isles , p. 302, at Google Books
  15. 1 2 3 Lloyd, Christopher (2000). Garden Flowers. Cassell and Co. pp. 170–172. ISBN   0304354279.
  16. Ramon Albajes, Maria Lodovica Gullino, Joop C. van Lenteren and Yigal Elad (Editors) Integrated Pest and Disease Management in Greenhouse Crops , p. 513, at Google Books
  17. Arnold S. Menke Sphecid Wasps of the World: A Generic Revision , p. 420, at Google Books
  18. "RHS Plantfinder – Gladiolus 'Robinetta'" . Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  19. "AGM Plants – Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 43. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  20. "August Birth Flowers". almanac.com. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  21. "Gladiolus Rag". Library of Congress. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  22. "Champions and their winning words". spellingbee.com/. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  23. Dame Edna Everage and gladioli
  24. Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle (Paris, 1819), pp. 315–316; Julius Billerbeck, Flora classica (Leipzig, 1824), p. 13; "L'origine dei maccheroni," Archivo per lo studio delle tradizioni popolari 17 (1898), vol. 36, p. 428.
  25. Ancient sources on phasganion, xiphion and gladiolus, generally called "corn-flag" by historical botanists, include Theophrastus, Historia Plantarum 7.12.3; Dioscorides, De Materia Medica E 2.101; Pliny, Natural History 21.107–115; Pseudo-Apuleius, Herbarius 79, as cited by Andrew Dalby, Food in the Ancient World from A to Z (Routledge, 2003), p. 105, characterizing Pliny's entry on the plant as "confused." The correspondence of ancient plant names to modern species is always uncertain. Both the Greek xiphion and the Latin word gladiolus ("little sword") come from a word meaning "sword."
  26. "Entertainment – Rainy-day voice of a generation". BBC. 17 May 2004.
  27. YouTube via YouTube.
  28. "Search for Gladiolus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  29. Rina Kamenetsky and Hiroshi Okubo (Editors) Ornamental Geophytes: From Basic Science to Sustainable Production , p. 24, at Google Books
  30. "Gladiolus acuminatus F.Bolus – The Plant List". theplantlist.org. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  31. "Gladiolus bullatus". rhs.org. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  32. Foden, W.; Potter, L. (2005). "Caledon Bluebell". redlist.sanbi.org/. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  33. "More About Us". Archived from the original on 28 August 2017.
  34. "Gladiolus Communis". the.botanical-magazine.com. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  35. "Gladiolus communis". rhs.org. Retrieved 3 March 2018.

Bibliography