Gladiolus recurvus L.

Plants 250-350 mm high. Corm globose, 10-14 mm diam.; tunics hard and woody, splitting from below into claw-like segments. Stem inclined above and flexed outward above sheath of each leaf, unbranched. Leaves 4, lowermost basal and sheathing lower 1/3 of stem, blade short or reaching to just below base of spike, 30-100 mm long, linear, ± 2 mm wide, margins raised into wings extended at right angles and arching inward over blade surface, edges lightly scabrid, main vein lightly raised but not thickened. Spike inclined, flexuose, 1-or 2(4)-flowered; bracts dull green to greyish brown, outer 30-40 mm long, apices somewhat twisted and with margins inrolled, inner shorter. Flowers dull cream-coloured to pale yellow, lower lateral tepals irregularly lined and spotted with dull purple, upper tepals sometimes lightly lined or spotted toward midline, lower margins of upper tepals transparent, with a strong, sweet cloying scent; perianth tube ± cylindric, curving outward and widening in throat, 27-36 mm long; tepals lanceolate-attenuate, upper margins undulate, apices twisted outward, dorsal largest, ascending, 22-30 x 14-18 mm, upper laterals 22-26 x 8-11 mm, spreading distally, lower 3 tepals joined to upper laterals for 4-7 mm and together for 2-3 mm, free parts ± 20 x 8-9 mm, spreading in upper 1/2. Filaments 14-15 mm long, exserted 4-5 mm from tube; anthers 8-10 mm long, dull grey to blackish; pollen pale yellow. Style arching over stamens, dividing just below to just beyond anther apices, branches 2.5-4.0 mm long. Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid, 14-16 mm long. Seeds ovate, ± 5 x 3 mm, broadly and evenly winged.