Gladiolus cunonius, the spoon flower

This Gladiolus cunonius inflorescence shows the few-flowered spike that presents its two-lipped blooms in two opposing ranks. The plant, sometimes referred to as spoon flower on account of the shape of its upper tepal, grows soft-textured, hairless leaves annually from a perennial corm. It reaches heights varying between 20 cm and 45 cm.

The lateral upper tepals, about half as long as the dorsal one, flank it with upturned, rounded tips. The lower three tepals are tiny and greenish. The flower tube is cylindrical, up to 1,5 cm in length. The subtending, pointed bracts at flower bases in picture are brownish green, tinted with purple (Manning, 2007; Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010).