Gladiolus between permeabilis and venustus

This Gladiolus seen in the Biedouw Valley in September shares characteristics of Gladiolus permeabilis and G. venustus. The latter was also photographed in the same area on the same trip.

It is not consistent with G. permeabilis, because there are no “windows” between the upper tepal bases normally slender enough for such gaps to exist. The dark median stripes usually found inside the upper tepals of G. permeabilis are also absent.

G. venustus does not have the dark zones in the basal (yellow) halves of their lower tepals that make their flowers similar to those of G. scullyi.

The range of floral possibilities of some species is underestimated, or this is a hybrid (Manning, 2007; Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; iNaturalist).