Gladiolus caryophyllaceus

The large flowers of Gladiolus caryophyllaceus are pale to deep pink or mauve and fragrant. The lower tepals are variably streaked and spotted red. The corolla tube is funnel-shaped, about 3 cm to 4 cm in length and curved outwards. The oblong anthers are shorter than the style that has three branches in its stigma.

The attractive flowers have made this a garden plant in many countries. While some parts of the plant distribution have become affected by development, other parts are inaccessible, keeping some populations of it and the species safe (Manning, 2009; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; www.redlist.sanbi.org).