Gladiolus longicollis subsp. longicollis flower tube

Gladiolus longicollis subsp. longicollis is the subspecies with the shorter perianth tube, although the name might suggest that it would be the other way round as it emphasises the long neck feature of the flower. Subsp. platypetalus in the more northerly distribution is serviced by the longer tongue nocturnal hawkmoths and subsp. longicollis occurring more to the south is adapted for night pollination by shorter proboscis hawkmoths in their durable nectar exchange arrangement.

In the photo the slender bract covering the lower part of the corolla tube is seen not reaching the spreading flower tepals (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist).