Gladiolus miniatus Eckl.

Plants 150-400 mm high, with cataphylls dull purple usually lightly mottled with green or white. Corm ± globose, 20-30 mm diam.; tunics of medium to coarsely textured fibres, accumulating in a mass. Stem flexed outward above sheathing part of uppermost or upper 2 leaves, then strongly inclined to horizontal, simple or with a short branch. Leaves usually 6, lower 4 basal and longest, reaching or slightly exceeding spike, lanceolate, 7-18 mm wide, margins and main vein lightly thickened, cauline leaves shorter. Spike flexed outward at base and nearly horizontal, 3-to 7-flowered; bracts dull to greyish green often flushed purple, 40-55(-65) mm long, inner shorter, minutely notched. Flowers cream-coloured to light salmon on opening but soon becoming deep salmon-orange, reverse of tube reddish, tepals darker along midlines decurrent on tube, unscented; perianth tube 50-65 mm long, narrow and cylindric in lower 20-35 mm, curving outward in middle and broadly cylindric in upper 30 mm, 6-8 mm diam.; tepals lanceolate, margins lightly undulate, unequal, dorsal arching slightly above horizontal, 32-39 x ± 15 mm, upper laterals spreading distally, 30-37 x 10-13 mm, lower 3 tepals smaller, 28-34 x 8-9 mm, lower median sometimes slightly longer than laterals. Filaments 35-37 mm long, exserted 8-11 mm from tube; anthers 5-7 mm long, purple; pollen purple. Style arching over stamens, dividing opposite anther apices, branches ± 5 mm long. Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid, 25-30 mm long. Seeds ovate, ± 9 x 7 mm, broadly winged.