Gladiolus cunonia Gaertn.

Plants (120-)300-700 mm high. Corm depressed-globose, 6-9 mm diam.; tunics papery to membranous, rapidly decaying and fragmenting irregularly, with numerous slender stolons. Stem erect, flexed outward above the sheaths of the cauline leaves and inclined above, simple or 1-or 2-branched. Leaves (5)6 to 8, mostly basal, reaching to ± base of spike or shortly exceeding it, narrowly lanceolate, 5-12 mm wide, main veins evident but not or only lightly thickened, cauline leaves smaller, uppermost leaf usually sheathing only near base. Spike inclined, lightly flexuose, (3)5-to 8-flowered; bracts soft-textured, green to greyish purple, 20-35(-45) mm long, inner shorter, acute or notched. Flowers bright red, lower tepals and tube initially green fading to yellow and later turning reddish, unscented; perianth tube 12-15 mm long, slender below for 10-12 mm, abruptly expanded into short, ± cylindric upper part; tepals with dorsal spathulate, 26-29 mm long, extended horizontally, with a linear claw 10-13 mm long, limb obovate-concave, 13-18 x 11 mm, upper laterals joined to dorsal for 8-12 mm, free part directed forward and upward, ovate-concave, 10-13 x 8 mm, lower tepals united for ± 2 mm, much reduced, free parts 1-4 mm long, lower laterals curving upward distally to partially block mouth of tube. Filaments ± 30 mm long, exserted ± 27 mm from tube, median filament with enlarged flattened horny tooth at base in front thus dividing tube in half; anthers 5-7 mm long, attached to filaments near middle with thecae free below filament insertion, red; pollen yellow. Style extended horizontally over stamens, dividing shortly below anthers, branches 7-8 mm long, conduplicate, expanded and stigmatic only at apices. Capsules oblong-ellipsoid and 3-sided, 27-32 mm long. Seeds ovate to oblong, 7-8 x ± 5 mm, broadly and evenly winged.

Can be grown by divisions.