Gladiolus orchidiflorus zigzagging spike

Stem zigzagging is pronounced in picture in the Gladiolus orchidiflorus flower spike among the spaced flowers yet to open.

Not the most spectacular of the Gladiolus genus, the name likening it to orchid flowers raises expectations that are hard to meet in the arid parts of the plant’s comparatively wide geographical distribution.

So, it often ends up as a dull vaalkalkoentjie (little grey turkey) and not a green one in the Free State and parts of Namaqualand like the Kamiesberg (Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).