Gladiolus undulatus flower spike

Gladiolus undulatus grows from three to twelve flowers in a two-ranked, slightly zigzagged spike. Many Gladiolus species carry their flower all to one side, an arrangement called secund.

The green bracts around the base of each flower cover slightly more than half of the flower base (where the ovary is included), before the broadening funnel-shaped part where the tepals are free. The bract has an acutely pointed tip positioned above the flower base, not below.

The species is described in Australia (where it is a garden escape). Methods are given for eradication or at least control of the unwanted plant that invades there. A warning is added regarding the small cormels produced by each mature corm of this Gladiolus in vegetative reproduction: If the big corm is removed from the ground, the little cormels will still grow, the problem multiplied (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au).