Gladiolus dolichosiphon Goldblatt & J.C.Manning

Plants 200-400 mm high, with cataphylls purple obscurely mottled with green or white. Corm subglobose, 10-15 mm diam.; tunics softly fibrous. Stem inclined outward above basal leaves, unbranched or with small lateral branch from axil of 1 or both uppermost leaves. Leaves 6 or 7, lower 3 basal and reaching or shortly exceeding spike, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1.5-4.0(-6.5) mm wide, main vein slightly thickened, margins hyaline, cauline leaves smaller and sheathing. Spike flexed at base, inclined, weakly flexuose, 4-or 5(7)-flowered, subsecund; bracts flushed purple, 20-30(-35) mm long, subacute or lower attenuate, inner shorter, subacute. Flowers pale creamy pink to salmon-coloured, lower 3 tepals with pale lozenge-shaped median mark outlined in dark red, unscented; perianth tube cylindric, expanded in upper 10 mm, straight or arched distally, (30-)40-55 mm long; tepals lanceolate, dorsal largest, 30-40 x 15-17 mm, arching forward over stamens, curving upward distally, upper laterals 25-28 x 12-14 mm, curving outward above, lower 3 tepals united basally for ± 2 mm, narrowly lanceolate, 20-25 x 4-5 mm. Filaments 16-20 mm long, exserted 10-14 mm from tube; anthers 8-9 mm long, purple; pollen cream-coloured. Style arching beneath dorsal tepal, dividing just below to just beyond anther apices, branches 5-6 mm long. Capsules obovoid, 3-lobed, 18-25 mm long. Seeds unknown.