Gladiolus Studies — I , i37 



HISTORY OF GARDEN SPECIES 



Gladiolus alatiis Linn. (Wing-flowered Gladiolus) is a native of the 

 Cape of Good Hope and was among the first species introduced into 

 Europe. The corm is round, compressed, and small, about the size of 

 a small crocus. The leaves are from three to four in number, narrowly 

 sword-shaped, somewhat leathery, without a middle nerve but streaked 

 with parallel fine furrows. The stem varies from a few inches to a foot 

 in height, and bears from five to ten flowers. The segments are very 

 unequal, the uppermost being one-half the width of the two lateral ones 

 and the lower segments narrower. The flowers are bright red, and small 

 like those of sweetbrier. Ker thinks that presirmably the specific name 

 was suggested to Linnaeus by the extended wing-like appearance of the 

 upper lateral segments of the corolla, rather than by the somewhat winged 

 stems. Although it is one of the so-called hardy species, it endures but 

 little cold; vet, on the other hand, it cannot be kept out of the soil except 

 for a short period. According to Ker it is propagated very easily by 

 seeds and cormels, although it is not so easily brought into flower, which 

 he attributes to lack of sufficient heat. 



This species is common in the western coast districts of South Africa, 

 where it flowers in the spring. In the south it inhabits the low hills and 

 flats; in the north, due to the less amount of rainfall, it is not found on 

 the plains, but only on motmtains in locations where soil and moisture 

 are congenial to it. When the plant is not set deep enough it throws 

 out se\'eral anchor roots which, according to Mar loth, ser^^e, when 

 shriveling at the beginning of the dr\' season, to drag the new corm 

 downward until by a series of annual descents the plant has reached its 

 proper depth. 



G. angustus Linn. (Narrow-leaved Gladiolus) was one of the first (if 

 not the very first) of the African species to be introduced into Europe. 

 The leaves are narrow, upright, shorter than the stem, and with a single 

 prominent midrib. The stem is from one to two feet high. The flowers 

 are from three to five in number, about four inches long, straight, narrow 

 funnel-form, one-ranked, and scentless. The three upper segments are 

 broad, the middle one being the broadest, the lower ones rather narrower, 

 all flat and spreading. The color is usually described as white, and the 

 lower segments are marked by a spade-shaped purple blotch. The color 

 plate in Curtis' s Botanical Magazine (tab. 602) shows a red blotch with a 

 distinct eye of the same color as the segment, and the spot is connected 

 with the base by a red line down the center of the petal. The flowers 

 appear in June. This species, says Ker, propagates easily by seeds or 

 cormels. The species was probably first noticed by Breyne, and was 



