Gladiolus martleyi L.Bolus

Plants (200-)300-600 mm high. Corm globose, 15-30 mm diam.; tunics softly papery or membranous, fragmenting irregularly or becoming somewhat fibrous. Stem erect below, inclined above, unbranched. Leaves 2 or 3, entirely sheathing, evenly spaced along stem or lowermost sometimes shortly overlapping one above, 50-150 mm long, progressively shorter, uppermost with margins free to base; foliage leaf produced after flowering, solitary, terete with four narrow longitudinal grooves, ± 1 mm diam. Spike weakly inclined, lightly flexuose, (3)5-to 11-flowered; bracts greyish to purplish green, outer 14-22 mm long, inner ± as long or slightly shorter, acute. Flowers pale to deep pink or lilac to mauve, lower lateral tepals with transverse band or spear-shaped to trilobed-spathulate yellow mark edged with darker pink or purple, often with strong sweet fragrance; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped, 11-12 mm long, cylindric lower part ± 7.5 mm long; tepals narrowly to broadly lanceolate, dorsal largest, inclined over stamens, curving upward distally, 22-27 x 11-12 mm, upper laterals recurving distally, 19-22 x 8.5-10.0 mm, lower 3 tepals united with upper laterals for 2-5 mm and together for 3-4 mm, free parts 15-19 mm long, gradually narrowed below into channelled claws, limbs arching downward, laterals ± 6 mm wide, lower median ± 8 mm wide. Filaments 12-13 mm long, exserted ± 8 mm from tube; anthers 6.0-8.8 mm long, dark purple-blue; pollen pale grey-blue. Style arching over stamens, dividing close to or slightly beyond anther apices, branches ± 3 mm long. Capsules narrowly ellipsoid, ± 12-20 mm long. Seeds oval, ± 7 x 4-5 mm, broadly and evenly winged.