aie Dela Be CrArl Al. OG 

Yladiolus Onigius 
Our popular and colorful group of large-flower- 
ing gladiolus is a distinctly modern development. 
But, in order to trace its development from the 
beginning, we must delve into the dim past. 
Some of the members of this diverse group of 
“Sword Lilies’ had their homes in the very 
cradle of civilization; Mesopotamia. From here 
they extended into the Mediterranean region and 
on into southern Europe. Thus the gladiolus was 
well known to the people of Rome, Greece and 
the Holy Land, and very probably were the “‘Lilies 
of the Field” referred to in the Bible. The main 
center of origin, however, was South Africa, as 
is the case with so many of our other finer 
cultivated plants. 
There are 150 or more species of Gladiolus 
known of which 15 are native of Europe and 
Asia. All the rest belong to Africa, and espe- 
cially to South Africa where there are few local- 
ities, indeed, without one or more of this lovely 
genus to beautify the country side. In the south 
coastal regions they grow on mountains, hills or 
plains. More rarely will you find them in swampy 
places, or among the moss and fern within reach 
of a waterfall’s spray. Some are even found on 
rocky cliffs against which the seawaves beat. They 
penetrate inland to a locality where one species 
with edible corms grows numerously. In some 
parts there is always one species if not more in 
flower during every month of the year. 
What a goodly heritage it is that has come 
down to us from the long past ages! Think of 
the different domestic kinds you know and try to 
realize how great a variety there is in his genus. 
Some are robust plants standing six feet high, 
with broad strongly ribbed leaves; others are so 
delicate looking and slender that you often won- 
der how they can live. Between these two ex- 
tremes there is every possible gradation you can 
imagine. Some species even have an added qual- 
ity-that of scent. 
The botany of this section of the Iris family is 
very confused and probably more so with the 
gladiolus than other forms, for the gladiolus is, 
apparently, the meeting ground of several related 
genera. Some are so closely related to the Wat- 
sonia that they have been crossed with them. 
However, we do not need to trouble our heads 
as to what constitutes a Gladiolus since even the 
experts do not agree. 
The ancestors of our garden gladiolus came 
from the mild coastal region of southern Africa 
as previously mentioned. These may be divided 
into two main groups; those of the western coast, 
centering around Cape of Good Hope, and those 
of the east coast, centering around Natal. 
Let us examine those on the western coast, first 
and the environs from whence they came. The 
winter storms from the west bring to the region 
around Cape Town a climate much like that of 
California, with a mild moist winter of luxuriant 
vegetation and a brilliant spring flowering season, 
when all the plants bloom at once in one gorgeous 
display of intense coloring. The southeast mon- 
soons of summer leave this coast dry and parch- 
ed. So the lowland vegetation makes its growth 
during the mild cool winters and the gladiolus 
from this region are for the most part, quick- 
growing and early flowering. They have short 
curved, wiry stems, each supporting a few dainty 
blooms. Their stems bend easily in the wind 
thus protecting both flowers and stalks from 
damage more effectively than would a stronger 
stem. Many of these have bright colored flowers 
of many forms some of which are ruffled. Others 
have bright spots on the lower petals, and are 
called Painted Ladies by small boys of South 
Africa. Transplanted and taken to distant shores, 
all of the Cape forms throve in the mild climate 
of England and southern Europe and were easily 
hybridized, giving rise to a group of fall-planted, 
spring flowering varieties, useful for bedding and 
for forcing early cutflowers in greenhouses. But 

POET’S DREAM 
