Gladiolus saccatus

Gladiolus saccatus is a cormous perennial growing annual leaves and flowers to heights from 40 cm to 65 cm in height. The corm is globose to conical covered in form papery tunics that fragment in irregularly shaped pieces. The corms do not accumulate but bearing large cormlets on short stolons. This is one of the 170 or so Gladiolus species of South Africa.

The distribution of G. saccatus is mainly in the Northern Cape from the west coast to Upington in the east. This range extends southwards into the northwest of the Western Cape and northwards to a large part of Namibia as far north as Grootfontein.

This region is mainly characterised by low to medium winter rainfall apart from the easterly part of the distribution where summer rain occurs. The plants grow among the Namaqualand hills often in rocky places. The flowers form part of the annual Namaqualand flower display. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Goldblatt, et al, 1998; www.pacificbulbsociety.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).