Gladiolus aquamontanus Goldblatt

Plants 400-1000 mm high, inclined or drooping, with cataphylls often decaying. Corm vestigial, resembling an erect rhizome, 9-12 mm diam.; tunics softly papery, not persisting. Stem inclined to drooping, unbranched. Leaves (4)5 or 6, lower 3 basal, soft-textured, narrowly lanceolate, 8-15 mm wide, main vein lightly raised, cauline leaves shorter, uppermost bract-like, partly to entirely sheathing. Spike inclined or drooping, usually 4-to 8-flowered, occasionally less; bracts green, soft-textured, outer 25-40 mm long, inner shorter. Flowers pale mauve-pink, lower 3 tepals with fairly broad, dark purple longitudinal median streak in basal 2/3 and purple toward base of upper part of tube; perianth tube (25-)34-40 mm long, slender and cylindric below for 20-30 mm, curving outward and flared in upper 5-10 mm; tepals lanceolate, dorsal largest, inclined to arching over stamens, 30-35 x 10-12 mm, upper laterals curving outward distally, ± 28 x 7 mm, lower 3 tepals extending forward ± horizontally, 25-30 x ± 10 mm. Filaments 15-20 mm long, exserted 10-15 mm from tube; anthers ± 7 mm long, dark purple; pollen cream-coloured. Style arching over stamens, dividing between base and apex of anthers, branches 5-6 mm long. Capsules narrowly obovoid, 18-22 mm long. Seeds narrowly oblong to slightly sigmoid, 7-9 x ± 2.5 mm, unevenly winged with wing narrow at sides.