138 Cornell i^xtension Bulletin 9 



described and figured by Linnasus in Hortus Cliff ortiamis in 1737. It 

 was cultivated by Miller in 1757. 



G. atroviolaceus Boiss. was introduced in 1889. It is therefore not 

 very well known commercially. The plant grows from one to one and 

 one-half feet tall, bearing linear, closely ribbed leaves. The spikes are 

 not thicker than a slender pencil and bear from four to eight flowers. 

 These are narrow and tube-like, with a small hood, and the colors are 

 navy blue, purple, and white. Fuld (19 12) reports that corms of this 

 species planted in a cold frame in October and covered during the winter 

 with sash, were discovered in active growth in March. Later the sash 

 were removed, and the plants flowered on May 15. Bulbs planted in 

 a greenhouse in December, according to Fuld, were in flower within two 

 months. While the stems were not so long as those on the plants grown 

 in the cold frame, the flowers were as graceful. If this proves to be the 

 general experience, there can be no doubt as to the usefulness of this 

 species for growing under glass, and it may prove a foundation for the 

 development of a true forcing type. 



G. hlandus Ait. (Fairest Gladiolus) has corms of medium size. The 

 leaves are sword-shaped, nerved, and shorter than the stem, which is 

 from one to two feet high and bears from three to ten large flowers. The 

 segments vary much in size and form in the different varieties; the lower 

 segments are the narrower. The perianth is white, tinged with red, the 

 lower segments with a reddish blotch at the throat. The flowers appear 

 in June and are scentless. The plant blooms freely and propagates 

 readily by both seed and comiels. The species was introduced into 

 Kew in 1774 by Masson. In the figure of the species in Curiiss Botanical 

 Magazine, the plant is shown with conspicuous red lines or markings 

 on the spathes. 



G. hlandus var. alhidus Jacq. (Snow-white Gladiolus) has stems one 

 foot long, which bear three flowers. The flowers are almost pure white, 

 there being only a very light stain on the backs of the petals before they 

 expand. 



G. hlandus var. carneiis De la Roche (Pale Purple Gladiolus), known 

 in the early lists as G. campamdatus Andrews, is a more robust form, 

 with larger, lilac or mauve, flowers. The upper segments are broad 

 and overlap one another; the lower ones are narrower but overlap, are 

 lighter in color than the upper segments, and are marked by a crescent- 

 shaped red spot. This form was introduced in 1796. 



G. hlandus var. excelsus Sweet is a taller-growing and larger-leaved 

 form of the species. 



G. hlandus var. Hihhertii Hort. has pink flowers with very distinct 

 spade-shaped blotches on the three lower segments. 



