Gladiolus splendens Herb.

Plants 0.5-1.1 m high, with cataphylls purple mottled with white. Corm globose, 15-22 mm diam., with 2 to several slender stolons from base; tunics papery to membranous, fragmenting irregularly. Stem erect, usually 1-or 2-branched, sometimes purplish. Leaves 5 to 7, lower 4 to 6 basal, reaching to base of spike, narrowly lanceolate to nearly linear, 4-9 mm wide, main and sometimes one other vein lightly raised, margins not thickened, cauline leaves smaller, often sheathing only near base. Spike usually erect, lightly flexuose, flowers in 2 ranks, (6)8-to 14-flowered; bracts usually purplish, outer 18-35 mm long, inner slightly shorter, acute or notched. Flowers bright scarlet, lower tepals and tube initially green or lower median tepal sometimes red distally, becoming red throughout on fading, unscented; perianth tube 16-18 mm long, narrow and cylindric in lower 8-9 mm, abruptly expanded into wider urn-shaped upper part ± 9 mm long; tepals with dorsal largest, spathulate, extended horizontally, 28-34 mm long, narrow lower part claw-like, 10-14 mm long, limb ovate-concave, 18-20 mm long, upper laterals joined to dorsal for 5-8 mm, free part ovate-concave, 16-17 x 10-12 mm, lower lateral tepals reduced, 4-6 x 1.5 mm, joined to upper lateral for ± 3 mm, free parts directed forward, lower flexed downward at right angles to tube, boat-shaped, 8-11 x ± 6 mm. Filaments 33-36 mm long, extended horizontally, exserted 25-29 mm from tube, median filament with enlarged flattened horny tooth at base in front thus dividing tube in half; anthers 5.5-8.0 mm long, attached to filaments near middle with thecae free below, red; pollen yellow. Style extended horizontally over stamens, dividing ± 5 mm below anthers, 9-10 mm long, conduplicate, expanded and stigmatic only at tips. Capsules ellipsoid to obovoid, 18-20 mm long, acute or ± truncate to retuse. Seeds ovate, 6-7 x 4-5, broadly and evenly winged.