''Gladiolus'' (from Latin, the diminutive of ''
gladius'', a sword
) is a
genus of
perennial cormous
flowering plants in the iris
family (Iridaceae).
It is sometimes called the 'sword lily', but is usually called by its generic name (plural ''gladioli'').
The genus occurs in Asia, Mediterranean Europe, South Africa, and tropical Africa. The
center of diversity
A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Ni ...
is in the
Cape Floristic Region.
[Goldblatt, P. &, J.C. Manning. ''Gladiolus'' in Southern Africa : Systematics, Biology, and Evolution. Fernwood Press, Cape Town; 1998.] The genera ''Acidanthera'', ''Anomalesia'', ''Homoglossum'', and ''Oenostachys'', formerly considered distinct, are now included in ''Gladiolus''.
Description
Gladioli grow from round, symmetrical
corms
[ (similar to crocuses) that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics.
Their stems are generally unbranched, producing 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved ]leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
, enclosed in a sheath.cataphyll
In plant morphology, a cataphyll (sometimes also called a ''cataphyllum'' or cataphyll leafJackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928) is a reduce ...
. The leaf blades can be plane or cruciform in cross section.
The flowers of unmodified wild species vary from very small to perhaps 40 mm across, and inflorescences bearing anything from one to several flowers. The spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce are the products of centuries of hybridisation and selection.
The flower spikes are large and one-sided, with