Gladiolus fourcadei (L.Bolus) Goldblatt & M.p.de Vos

Plants 400-600 mm high. Corm globose-obconic, 10-12 mm diam.; tunics cartilaginous, splitting from below into soft fibres. Stem flexed outward above sheath of second leaf, then erect again, unbranched. Leaves (2)3, lower (1)2 basal, lowermost markedly longest, reaching to ± middle of spike, centric and cross-shaped in section, midrib raised into flanges up to half as wide as blade, margins and edges of midrib wings thickened, remaining leaves without blades, second leaf sheathing lower half of stem, uppermost leaf inserted on upper 1/3 of stem, largely or entirely sheathing, margins fused below. Spike erect and ± straight, 3-to 5-flowered; bracts pale brownish green, sometimes lightly flushed purple, outer 42-60 mm long, enclosing base of upper part of tube, inner bract shorter, minutely forked, twisted to lie against outer bract. Flowers yellow-green with upper tepals flushed and veined with dusky red, reverse of tepals and tube red, somewhat streaked on tepals, lower 3 tepals sometimes speckled with minute dark red spots in lower 1/2, unscented; perianth tube 35-46 mm long, slender and cylindric below for 15-18 mm, curving abruptly into a wider cylindric part 20-28 mm long, ± 5 mm diam., ascending to almost horizontal; tepals with dorsal ovate, ascending, 15-20 x ± 12 mm, upper laterals spreading, 14-15 x ± 10 mm, lower 3 tepals much smaller, patent, subequal, ± 9 x 7 mm, directed downward. Filaments 26-32 mm long, exserted 4-8 mm from tube; anthers 8-10 mm long, light purple; pollen yellow. Style extending horizontally over stamens, dividing opposite upper 1/3 of anthers, branches 4 mm long. Capsules and seeds unknown.