Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews

Plants (250-)350-500 mm high, with cataphylls purple, lightly mottled with green or white. Corm ± globose, 20-40 mm diam.; tunics papery, decaying into medium to coarsely textured fibres, accumulating in a thick mass. Stem erect below, flexed outward above sheaths of upper 2 leaves, usually unbranched. Leaves 4 to 7, lower 3 to 5 basal, reaching to base or often shortly exceeding spike, lanceolate, 6-15(-20) mm wide, margins and main vein and 1 or 2 other veins lightly or sometimes moderately thickened, margins occasionally minutely crisped, cauline leaves shorter. Spike strongly inclined to almost horizontal, lightly flexuose, (2)3-to 6(9)-flowered; bracts green or flushed brownish or purple, (30-)35-50(-65) mm long, sometimes lightly folded in upper midline, inner shorter. Flowers cream-coloured, whitish or pale pink, lower 1/2 of tepals darker coloured on reverse, upper lateral and lower tepals with pink to reddish median streak, throat yellow, sometimes with red at base, occasionally lightly scented; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped, (22-)27-35(-55) mm long, lower cylindric part 13-22(-40) mm long, reaching to between the middle and apices of bracts, rarely slightly longer; tepals obovate to oblanceolate, margins sometimes undulate or lightly crisped, obtuse to retuse, subequal or unequal, then upper 3 slightly larger or dorsal largest, ascending, arching upward distally, 35-40(-44) x 13-20 mm, upper laterals 30-36 x 13-18 mm, curving outward distally, lower tepals united for 2-3 mm, 23-31(-37) x 8-13 mm. Filaments 14-22 mm long, exserted 4-12 mm from tube, cream-coloured or pink; anthers 7-11 mm long, white, cream-coloured, or purple; pollen white or mauve. Style usually arching over stamens, rarely suberect, dividing between middle and apex of anthers or slightly exceeding them, branches 5-9 mm long. Capsules narrowly obovoid to elliptic, 30-40 mm long. Seeds oval, 12-14 x 8-10 mm, broadly and evenly winged.