Gladiolus venustus blue-purple and bright

The bluntly pointed tepal tips of Gladiolus venustus are variably wavy, the upper ones blue-purple to nearer the base than the smaller, lower ones.

The dull whitish base of the dorsal tepal appears like a decorative veil. Not to an inner sanctum, only as a backdrop for the stamens and style that are obscurely pressed to the roof formed by the middle part of this tepal bent forward.

Forked, dark markings are present near the bases of the lower tepals. Pale yellow parts are small in the centre here, replaced by white in the midsections (Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist).