Gladiolus inflatus

Gladiolus inflatus, commonly known as the Tulbagh bell, in Afrikaans as the blouklokkie (blue bell) and scientifically earlier as G. bolusii, is a slender perennial that grows from a globose corm in dark, woody, layered tunics.

Three slightly hairy leaves and a flower stem are annually produced above ground to heights ranging from 25 cm to 60 cm. There are also membranous cataphylls low down. The lowest leaf is quill-shaped with four longitudinal grooves along its surface. All the leaves are close to cylindrical. The uppermost leaf on the stem is often only a sheathing.

The species distribution ranges from Clanwilliam to Caledon in the Western Cape and eastwards to Willowmore in the Eastern Cape. 

The habitat is sandstone slopes and rocky outcrops among shrubs and restios. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).