Gladiolus Studies — I 139 



G. blaudns var. Morton ins Herb, has steins one and one-half feet long. 

 The flowers are white, unth copious faint vertical streaks. The variety 

 was introduced about 1835. 



G. cardinalis Curt. (Superb Gladiolus), a beautiful Cape species, was 

 given its common name because it grows from three to four feet high, 

 bearing from twelve to twenty bright scarlet flowers, with the lower 

 segments of the perianth marked by a large diamond-shaped white blotch. 

 It is figured in Curtis' s Botanical Magazine, tab. 135 (1790), where 

 the statement is made that the species was introduced into England from 

 Holland by Grafter and was first flowered by Lewis &Mackie at Kingsland. 

 Aiton says it was introduced by Grafter in 1789. The species flowers in 

 July and August. It is just hardy in England, and dampness affects 

 the corms— which, however, are intolerant of being out of the ground 

 long, and consequently it was the practice of growers to plant this 

 species in the fall. Allen says it rarely flowers if planted in the spring. 



This species is one of the parents of G. Colvillei, G. ramosus, G. 

 pitdibtindiis, G. candidus, and G. incarnatns. It is thought by some to 

 be a parent of the gand<jvensis race, but the plant -breeding e\'idence, 

 and to a certain extent the characters of the early varieties of this type, 

 are against this being a fact. A rose-colored variety called subrosetis 

 was raised from G. cardinalis by Jacques in 1847 from seed produced in 

 1S44. According to Marloth, this species is found on the moist cHffs 

 and grassy ledges of waterfalls in the Wellington, Paarl, and Frenchhoek 

 ^Mountains, flowering in midsummer (January'). The conn is smaU but 

 is provided with numerous long, thin, much-branched roots, which spread 

 widely in the bogg\- soil. The species appears to flourish under conditions 

 favorable to Disa uniftora, and sometimes the two may be found flowering 

 together. The flowers are bright scarlet and crimson; the uppermost 

 petal, the largest and hooded, is somewhat paler; the three lower petals 

 and sometimes those adjoining them have a white blotch. The flowers 

 are faintly scented like some lilies. In nature the plant hangs from 

 cliffs, the stems are from three to four feet long, the leaves are from two 

 to three feet long, and there are from five to ten flowers on the hanging 

 spike. "UTiether the spike is hanging downward (as found under natural 

 conditions) or is cut and placed in an upright position in v,-ater, the 

 flowers are always in the normal position — that is, with the hooded 

 segment uppermost. This is due to a turn of the tube which enables the 

 flowers to adjust themselves to conditions under which the individual 

 buds open, and appears to be an adaptation for butterflies and birds, 

 which visit the flowers for the nectar in the narrow tube and accomplish 

 fertilization of the flowers by brushing against the stamens or the stigmas 

 that arch over underneath the hood. 



