Gladiolus gregarius Welw. ex Baker

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Photo: Nicholas Wightman
Understory of miombo woodland in rocky outcrops at Lazy-J Ranch

Photo: Nicholas Wightman
Understory of miombo woodland among rocky patches near Kalungwishi River between Lumangwe and Kabwelume Falls

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Synonyms:	Gladiolus corbisieri De Wild. Gladiolus descampsii De Wild Gladiolus elegans Vaupel Gladiolus gilletii De Wild. Gladiolus hanningtonii Baker Gladiolus karendensis Baker Gladiolus multiflorus Welw. ex Baker Gladiolus pseudogregarius Mildbr. ex Hutch. Gladiolus spicatus Klatt Gladiolus uhehensis Harms
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:
Description:	Plants (15)30-80 cm tall; corms (12)18-30(40) mm in diameter, tunics membranous, fragmenting irregularly; foliage leaves 4-7, lower 3-5 basal and half to two thirds as long as the stem, (6)9-16(24) mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, margins and midribs not or hardly thickened, upper leaves cauline and shorter; flowering stems unbranched; spike (2)8-20(25) flowered, erect but evidently flexuous under the bracts; bracts 20-30(50) x 8-10 mm, green or becoming dry and brown at the end of flowering, firm, inner slightly c. two thirds longer than outer; flowers light to dark purple fading to cream coloured in throat or mostly white , tube usually dark purple below, lower 3 tepals each with a dark purple diamond shaped marking in the distal third; perianth tube c. 12 mm long, curved outwards; tepals unequal, uppermost (16)22-26 x 12-18 mm, arched over stamens, lower 3 tepals c. 12 x 5 mm, exceeding the upper tepals when viewed in profile; capsules 12-15 mm long, ellipsoid, fairly hard and woody when dry.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	gregarius: growing in company but not united or matted together.
Habitat:
Altitude range:
Flowering time:	Jan - Mar
Worldwide distribution:	From Senegal east to Uganda and Burundi south to Angola to Mozambique
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 310. Da Silva, M.C., Izidine, S. & Amude, A.B. (2004). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 30 Sabonet, Pretoria Page 127. Goldblatt, P. (1993). Iridaceae Flora Zambesiaca 12(4) Pages 78 - 80. (Includes a picture). Goldblatt, P. (1996). Gladiolus in Tropical Africa Timber Press. Portland, Oregon. Pages 140 - 150.

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Flora of Malawi: Gladiolus gregarius
Flora of Mozambique: Gladiolus gregarius
Flora of Zambia: Gladiolus gregarius

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Gladiolus gregarius
African Plant Database: Gladiolus gregarius
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Gladiolus gregarius
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Gladiolus gregarius
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Gladiolus gregarius
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iNaturalist: Gladiolus gregarius
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Gladiolus gregarius
JSTOR Plant Science: Gladiolus gregarius
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Gladiolus gregarius
Plants of the World Online: Gladiolus gregarius
Tropicos: Gladiolus gregarius
Wikipedia: Gladiolus gregarius