Gladiolus griseus Goldblatt & J.C.Manning

Plants 200-800 mm high, with cataphylls purple mottled with white above ground. Corm globose, 8-15 mm diam.; tunics papery, decaying into soft-textured fibres. Stem erect below, flexed outward above sheaths of upper 2 leaves, unbranched. Leaves 3, lowermost usually shortly exceeding spike, linear, 2.0-7.5 mm wide, main vein lightly to moderately thickened, margins not or very little thickened, second leaf sheathing lower 1/2 of stem, blade fairly short, uppermost leaf shortest and inserted on upper 1/3 of stem, margins united below. Spike inclined, lightly flexuose, (3)6-to 15-flowered; bracts pale green or greyish green or flushed purple, veins and margins translucent, outer 25-35(-40) mm long, inner slightly shorter, minutely notched apically. Flowers greyish mauve to greenish grey, lower tepals with yellow band across upper 1/3 edged green and maroon, usually with light sweet scent; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped, 6-10 mm long, lower cylindric part 3-5 mm long; tepals with dorsal largest, arching forward, recurved apically, 16-26 x 11-17 mm, upper laterals ± equal or slightly smaller, 15-21 x 10-14 mm, scarcely curving outward distally, lower tepals joined to ± laterals for 2-3 mm and to one another for up to 3.5 mm, 13-16 x ± 6 mm, widest in upper 1/3, lower laterals deeply channelled below with margins ± vertical. Filaments 5-9 mm long, exserted 3-6 mm from tube; anthers 7.0-9.5 mm long, cream-coloured; pollen cream-coloured. Style arching over stamens, dividing between middle and upper 1/3 of anthers, branches ± 2 mm long. Capsules oblong to ellipsoid, acute, 15-20(-25) mm long. Seeds ovate, ± 7 x 4-5 mm, broadly and evenly winged.