Gladiolus speciosus, after flowering

After flowering, the Gladiolus speciosus plant retains the floral bracts upon the zigzagging stem longer than the corollas, now protectively covering the developing ovaries. The bract margins in picture are red.

The straight, basal leaves of the plant were withered by October when the photo was taken in the Gifberg, unlike the stem leaves and bracts that are still green (Manning, 2007; Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org).