144 Cornell Extension Bulletin 9 



lower segments. The flowers are bell-shaped and the spikes bow-like. 

 This species is valuable, not for its beauty, but as a parent of garden 

 forms. It was used in the development of G. Lemoinei. 



G. recurvus Linn. (Violet-scented Gladiolus) is a native of Cape Colony, 

 and was grown by Miller from seed and flowered at Chelsea before 

 1760. The stem is from one to two feet tall, is slender, and bears three 

 strongly ribbed leaves. The flowers are from two to six in number, sulfur- 

 colored, suffused and broadly edged with lilac, and with three stripes on 

 each petal. The flowers are very fragrant, with a scent described by 

 some writers as similar to that of violets or orris root. The species 

 flowers in the northern hemisphere in April and May. This species is 

 considered the most fragrant of the genus. It is somewhat intolerant 

 of moisture when not in flower, but other\vise it never fails to bloom 

 when the corms attain proper age. Marloth, who distinguishes between 

 this and G. maculatus Sweet, says the three upper segments are broader 

 than the lower, and are pale or dark lilac, and the lower segments are 

 yellow with mauve or lilac points and similar streaks. The plant is fre- 

 quent in the Cape flats and elsewhere, where it flowers in the spring 

 (August) and is known by the common name Mauve Afrikandes. This 

 species was introduced into Kew in 1774, where it was named G. carinatus. 

 Miller's description is full and complete, but his figure is incorrect as 

 the stem is not branched. 



G. tristis Linn. (Sad-colored Gladiolus), an African species, was given 

 its name by Linnaeus because of the color of its flowers, which, however, 

 are scarcely somber enough to deserve the name. The color is pale 

 yeUow, with dark brown spots. The blossoms are sweet-scented from 

 dusk to dawn. The flowers appear in April and May on stems one and 

 one-half feet high. The leaves are linear, four-sided, and furrowed. 

 This was one of the first species brought from the Cape, and was cultivated 

 by Philip Miller as early as 1745. 



G. tristis var. concolor vSalisb. was formerly known as G. concolor. This 

 plant is so named because of the almost concolorous white and pale yellow 

 flowers. Like the type, it is fragrant in the evening. The foliage has 

 the peculiar characters of G. tristis. Like the type also, it endures little 

 cold, and because of its early flowering must be grown in a frame. 



HYBRID GLADIOLI 



The variety Bellona is a hybrid between G. cuspidatns and G. papilio, 

 raised and introduced by Dammann in 1899. In his catalog for the 

 year Dammann described it as " an early -flowered gladiolus of most 

 peculiar form and color. Leaves green, narrow and lanceolated, stalk 

 about sixteen inches high, very rich-flowered. Petals long, rolled and 



