Gladiolus violaceo-ineatus G.J.Lewis

Plants 300-500 mm high, with cataphylls sometimes minutely puberulous. Corm conic, 8-10 mm diam.; tunics cartilaginous to papery, fragmenting into firm strips or fairly coarse fibres. Stem erect, flexed outward above sheaths of upper 3 leaves, inclined in upper 1/3, unbranched. Leaves 4, lower 1 or 2 basal, lowermost sheathing lower 1/2 of stem, reaching to between upper 1/3 of stem and base of spike, linear, 1-2(-4) mm wide, straight, 3-angled, abaxial margin with raised edges extending outward at right angles to surface, main vein and adaxial margin not thickened or raised, remaining leaves progressively shorter, ± plane, lower margins united around stem. Spike inclined, flexuose, (1)2-to 4-flowered; bracts green to dark grey-green with broad membranous margins, outer (20-)28-33(-50) mm long, inner shorter, notched apically. Flowers pale blue streaked, speckled, and feathered with purple, lower 3 tepals white to yellow below and more strongly marked than upper, base of tepals and upper part of tube speckled with red spots, lightly sweet-scented; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped, 12-15 mm long, lower cylindric part enclosed in bracts; tepals narrowly lanceolate-attenuate, upper 3 larger than lower, dorsal usually largest, 26-39 x 9-18 mm, upper laterals ± 26-37 x 8-11 mm, curving outward distally, lower 3 tepals joined to upper laterals for ± 5 mm and together for ± 3 mm, slightly narrowed and deeply channelled in lower 1/2, lower laterals 18-30 mm long, lower median longer than laterals, 24-32 mm long, all curving outward above. Filaments 13-15 mm long, exserted 5-10 mm from tube but included in flower; anthers 9-11 mm long, pale grey; pollen whitish. Style arching over stamens, dividing between upper 1/3 and tips of anthers, branches ± 3.5 mm long. Seeds ovate, 7-8 x 5-6 mm, broadly and evenly winged.