''Gladiolus alatus'' is a species of

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Common names include painted ladies, king kalkoentjie and kipkippie. Kalkoentjie means "little turkey" in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

and refers to the shape of the flower, which resembles a turkey's wattle. It is popular as a garden plant and an important part of the cut flower industry in parts of the world on account of its large and showy orange flowers.

Description

Growth form

This

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

ous geophyte grows tall. The lower part of the lightly compressed stem is erect, flexing outward above third leaf. The stem is ridged or winged on at least one side. Although the stem is usually simple, some plants have one short stem. They often have a small cormlet in the subterranean leaf axils.e-Flora of South Africa. v1.42. 2023. South African National Biodiversity Institute. http://ipt.sanbi.org.za/iptsanbi/resource?r=flora_descriptions&v=1.42

Corm

The corm has a depressed globose shape and a diameter of . The tunics are usually papery but may sometimes be more fibrous. The tunics are brown or reddish-brown in colour.

Leaves

Each plant has three or four ribbed, lance- to sickle-shaped leaves. Rarely plants have five leaves. The lowest two or three leaves are basal. The lowest leaf is the longest (it approximately reaches the top of the floral spike), with higher leaves getting progressively smaller. They are often lightly rough with hairs or papillae. The uppermost leaf is often bract-like.

Flowers

''Gladiolus alatus'' produces large orange flowers. Each plant has between two and eight flowers borne in a spike inflorescence. The lower halves of upper lateral tepals are covered in red hairs, the areas between them thickened into hairy, iridescent ridges. The lower tepals are yellow-green towards the base with orange tips. The funnel-shaped perianth tube is , with anthers and stamens arising near the middle. The arched filaments are hairy and green or yellowish in colour with purple lines and bear stamens with yellowish pollen They are present between August and October and have a sweet scent. Each flower lasts about a week. The green floral bracts are strongly keeled and have purple margins. The inner bracts are slightly shorter and have two keels.

Seeds

The plant produces thin-walled capsules ( long containing seeds. the light brown seeds have a broad membranous wing with air pockets that assist with dispersal.

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to

. It is found from southern

Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

to the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape ...

in the south and Caledon and

Bredasdorp Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape Agu ...

in the east. It is found growing on slopes with sandstone and granitic soils.

Taxonomy

''Gladiolus alatus'' was one of the first gladiolus species to be illustrated. The genus name means "small sword" in Latin, referring to the sword-shaped leaves. The species epithet means "winged", likely referring to the wing-like upper perianth lobes or the winged seeds. Historically, this species this species was considered to have five varieties. These are now considered to be separate species due to how much variety was found to exist between them. * ''Gladiolus alatus var. alatus'': The most widespread variety, showing the features typical of this species. * ''Gladiolus alatus var. meliusculus'' ( Darling to

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

): Flowers are pale and softer with a green-ringed red base on each perianth lobe. This is now classified as '' Gladiolus meliusculus''. * ''Gladiolus alatus var. speciosus'' (Malmesbury to Clanwilliam): Plants belonging to this variety have a distinct yellow or greenish-yellow patch on the back of the upper lobes and contestably hooded dorsal lobe. This is now classified as '' Gladiolus speciosus''. * ''Gladiolus alatus var. pulcherrimus'' (from Clanwilliam and

Piketberg Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...

): Plants have wider leaves and an inflorescence which branches more. Flowers have similar markings to ''Gladiolus speciosus''. This is now classified as '' Gladiolus pulcherrimus''. * ''Gladiolus alatus var. pulcherrimus'' (from

Gqeberha Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

): Now extinct.

Ecology

Plants are sometimes found growing inside clumps of

restios The Restionaceae, also called restiads and restios, are a family of flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere; they vary from a few centimeters to 3 meters in height. Following the APG IV (2016): the family now includes the former famil ...

in parts of its range. This helps to protect it from grazers and moles. This species is mainly pollinated by solitary bees. The light, winged seeds are dispersed by the wind.

Conservation

This species is classified as being of least concern by the

South African National Biodiversity Institute The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs ( ...

. While it has lost parts of its habitat to agriculture, it remains common and is found at over forty sites.

Uses

This species has commercial importance, both as a garden plant and in the cut flower industry. Several exotic cultivars are grown for commercial use, with some varieties (such as Pietmohlen and Florared) showing more desirable features than others. Pollen can be frozen for long-term storage.

References

External links

* alatus Endemic flora of South Africa Plants described in 1760 {{Iridaceae-stub