Gladiolus mostertiae Seeds - Indigenous South African Native Perennial Bulb Seeds from Africa

Gladiolus mostertiae Seeds

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 excellent cut flowers.

Gladiolus mostertiae is a South African endemic species from the Northern Cape Province where it can be found growing on the Bokkeveld Escarpment around Nieuwoudtville. It is usually found growing in sandy soils in marshy places that remain moist well into the dry season. It grows to 30cm tall with linear hairy leaves. During summer it bears a spike of 4-10 pale pink flowers with yellow-green markings on the lower tepals.