Gladiolus marlothii Seeds - Indigenous South African Bulb Seeds for Sale in South Africa

Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae). Sometimes called the sword lily, the most widely-used English common name for these plants is simply gladiolus (plural gladioli or gladioluses). The genus Gladiolus contains about 260 species, of which 250 are native to sub-Saharan Africa, mostly South Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. There are 160 species of Gladiolus endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa.

The fragrant flower spikes are large and one-sided. They make very good cut flowers.

Gladiolus marlothii is endemic to the Roggeveld Escarpment. It grows on open slopes or among rock outcrops, always in heavy clay and usually in rocky situations at an elevation of 1800 m. Flowers are pale blue-lilac with a transverse yellow band about the base of the limb and are densely speckled with dark purple at the edges of the yellow band.