Gladiolus sericeovillosus subsp. sericeovillosus

The grassland habitat of Gladiolus sericeovillosus subsp. sericeovillosus falls within the summer rainfall area of South Africa. Winter frost is common here, when flowering plants like the many Gladiolus species that grow here are reduced to their perennial corms, while the ground is blanketed in dry grass.

The discarded aerial parts of many deciduous grassland plants, i.e. withered leaves and flower stalks of past seasons, are turned to compost slowly or to ashes quickly. Either way these leftovers become food for the subterranean Gladiolus corm and its neighbours, be they rootstocks or seeds, patiently waiting to produce leaves and flowers for the season to come (Fuggle and Rabie, 1983).