Gladiolus undulatus flower

The flower of Gladiolus undulatus is long-tubed and two-lipped. The long tapering tepals are cream to greenish-white or pale pink and often wavy, particularly the upper ones.

The lower three tepals have dark, blood red, almost circular markings near the base. The upper three are unmarked, but broader near the base and folding in for a short distance immediately beyond that.

A fly is perched where the three droopy stigma branches split, resting in the shade of the bowl part of the dorsal sepal. The anthers are shorter and angled down, here visible below the stigma. Pollination is done by long-tongued flies. Flowering happens late in spring and early in summer (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005).