Gladiolus hirsutus

Gladiolus hirsutus, the lapmuis (cloth mouse) in Afrikaans, is a perennial with three to eight pink, white or purple flowers. They grow in nature over a wide area in the south-western parts of the Western Cape on sandstone slopes. The hirsutus specific name relates to the hairiness of the three or four short, sword-shaped leaves. The corms are globular with coarse vertical fibre coverings.

The flowers of G. hirsutus have short tubes of about 2 cm with some variance. They are two-lipped and have irregular dark red or purple streaks on the lower three tepals. The common name of lapmuis may refer to the shape of the corolla. The flower stalk gets 60 cm tall, longer than the leaves. The blooming season is June to October in habitat. Flowering is best after veld fires. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees (www.pacificbulbsociety.org; Bean and Johns, 2005; www.fernkloof.com).