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  1. Family: Iridaceae Juss.
    1. Genus: Gladiolus Tourn. ex L.

      1. Gladiolus unguiculatus Baker

        This species is accepted, and its native range is Tropical Africa to Botswana.

    [FTEA]

    Iridaceae, Peter Goldblatt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1996

    Habit
    Plants 30-60 cm. high.
    Corms
    Corm 1.5-2.5(-3.5) cm. in diameter, often dark red on the outside and sometimes internally, tunics membranous and irregularly broken to fibrous and reticulate, red-brown.
    Leaves
    Foliage leaves (of the flowering stem) usually short and entirely sheathing (then hardly distinguishable from the cataphylls) or with a short blade (rarely 2 basal leaves fairly well developed and with limbs exceeding the sheaths); foliage leaves produced after flowering on separate shoots after blooming, (?1-)2-3, linear to narrowly lanceolate, ultimately 30-45 cm. long, 4-8(-12) mm. wide, the margins and midrib lightly thickened and hyaline; sheathing leaves 3-5, usually 6-9 cm. long, somewhat longer below and exceeding the internodes, shorter above and shorter than the internodes, thus imbricate below but rarely so above, sometimes the lower with blades up to 4 cm. long.
    Stem
    Stem erect, rarely branched.
    Inflorescences
    Spike 10-18-flowered; bracts 1-1.5 cm. long, green, the inner somewhat shorter to nearly as long as the outer.
    Flowers
    Flowers cream to light purple, the dorsal tepals flushed light to deep purple, the lower each with deep purple spear-shaped marking in the upper third, surrounded by a lighter area, sometimes with a dark spot at the base of the dorsal tepal; in profile windowed with a gap between the dorsal and upper lateral tepals; perianth-tube ± 1 cm. long, curving outward between the bracts, widening near the mouth; tepals unequal, the dorsal largest, 1.8-2(-2.4) × 1-1.2 cm., arched over the stamens and style, much narrower toward the base, the upper laterals smaller, joined to the lower 3 for 3-5 mm., directed forward, curving outward toward the apices, the lower 3 tepals smallest, usually united for 1-2 mm., horizontal or directed downward distally, in profile usually exceeding the dorsal, 1-1.2 cm. long, narrowed below into claws, the limbs abruptly expanded.
    Stamens
    Filaments 1-1.2 cm. long, exserted 4-5 mm.; anthers 6-8 mm. long.
    Style
    Style dividing opposite the lower half of the anthers, the branches 2-2.5 mm. long.
    Fruits
    Capsules ellipsoid-ovoid, 1.2-1.6 cm. long.
    Figures
    Fig. 13/1-3.
    Habitat
    Seasonally wet sites with shallow soils and poor drainage, thus often found in wet flushes in rock outcrops and along the margins of valley grassland; 800-2200 m.; flowering at the end of the dry season or early in the wet season, October to December; often a conspicuous element of the prerain or early wet season flora
    Distribution
    widespread from Senegal to Sudan and south to Angola and Zimbabwe. T4 T7 T8
    [FZ]

    Iridaceae, P. Goldblatt. Flora Zambesiaca 12:4. 1993

    Habit
    Plants 30–60 cm high.
    Corms
    Corms 15–25(35) mm in diameter, often dark-red on the outside and sometimes internally; tunics red-brown, membranous and irregularly broken or fibrous and reticulate.
    Leaves
    Leaves of the flowering stem are usually short, entirely stem sheathing and hardly distinguishable from the cataphylls, or these sometimes with a short isobilateral blade, rarely do 2 basal leaves become fairly well developed and with blades exceeding the sheaths; sheathing leaves 3–5, usually 6–9 cm long, the lower ones exceeding the internodes, the upper ones shorter than the internodes, thus imbricate below but rarely so above, sometimes the lower ones with blades up to 4 cm long; (1)2–3 foliage leaves are produced on separate shoots after the plants have flowered (hysteranthous leaves), these ultimately 30–45 cm long and 4–8(12) mm wide, linear to narrowly lanceolate, with margins and midrib slightly thickened and hyaline.
    Stem
    Stem erect, rarely branched.
    Inflorescences
    Spike 10–18-flowered; bracts green, 10–15 mm long, the inner somewhat shorter than, to nearly equalling, the outer in length.
    Flowers
    Flowers cream to light-purple, the upper tepals flushed light- to deep-purple, the lower each with deep-purple spear-shaped marking in the upper third, surrounded by a lighter area, sometimes with a dark spot at the base of the uppermost tepal, flowers windowed when viewed in profile, with a gap between the uppermost tepal and the upper lateral tepals; perianth tube c. 10 mm long, curving outward from between the bracts, widening near the mouth; tepals unequal, the uppermost 18–20(24) × (8)10–12 mm, larger than the others and arched over the stamens and style and much narrower toward the base, the upper lateral tepals smaller, joined to the lower 3 for 3–5 mm, directed forward and ultimately curving outwards, the lower 3 tepals smaller than the others, usually exceeding the uppermost when viewed in profile, 10–12 mm long, usually united for 1–2 mm, horizontal or directed downward distally, narrowed below into claws, the limbs abruptly expanded.
    Stamens
    Filaments 10–12 mm long, exserted 4–5 mm; anthers yellow, 6–8 mm long.
    Style
    Style dividing opposite the lower half of the anthers; style branches 2–2.5 mm long, reaching to between the middle and apices of the anthers.
    Fruits
    Capsules 12–16 mm long, ellipsoid-ovoid.
    [FWTA]

    Iridaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:1. 1968

    Habit
    Slender herb about 1 ft. high
    Flowers
    Flowers dull purple fading to white
    Ecology
    In moist ground in savanna.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

    Gladiolus unguiculatus Baker appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Jan 1, 2004 Pollard, B.J. [937], Cameroon K000212825
    Jan 1, 2004 Pollard, B.J. [974], Cameroon K000212826
    Dec 1, 2003 Onana, J.-M. [2037], Cameroon K000212820
    Milne-Redhead, E. [2972], Zambia 38392.000
    Milne-Redhead, E. [3453], Zambia 38410.000
    Milne-Redhead, E. [3316], Zambia 38422.000
    Milne-Redhead, E. [3087], Zambia 38430.000
    Milne-Redhead, E. [3231], Zambia 38432.000
    Milne-Redhead, E. [2873], Zambia 38441.000
    Milne-Redhead, E. [3317], Zambia 38469.000
    Chevalier, A. [8662], Central African Republic K000320728 Unknown type material
    Welwitsch [1534], Angola K000320785 isolectotype
    Oates, F. [s.n.], Zimbabwe K000320783 holotype
    Cecil, E. [129], Zimbabwe K000320784
    Morson [s.n.], Sierra Leone K000320719 holotype

    First published in J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 16: 178 (1877)

    Accepted by

    • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo) Taxonomania. Revue de Taxonomie et de Nomenclature Botaniques 30: 1-307.
    • Lejoly, J., Ndjele, L. & Geerinck, D. (2008). Flore de la Tshopo (RD Congo) Taxonomania. Revue de Taxonomie et de Nomenclature Botaniques 24: 1-37.
    • Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.
    • Geerinck, D (2005). Flore d'Afrique Centrale (Zaïre - Rwanda - Burundi) Iridaceae: 1-102. Jardin Botanique National de Belgique, Meise.
    • Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.
    • Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS G: 1-40325.
    • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.
    • Andrews, F.W. (1956). The Flowering Plants of the Sudan 3: i-viii, 1-579. T.Buncle & co., LTD., Arbroath, Scotland.

    Not accepted by

    • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers. [Cited as Gladiolus atropurpureus.]

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • Mildbr. in Engl., Bot. Jahrb. 58: 232, for full synonymy.
    • F.T.A. 7: 372
    • in J. Linn. Soc. 16: 178 (1877)
    Kew Backbone Distributions
    • Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo) Taxonomania. Revue de Taxonomie et de Nomenclature Botaniques 30: 1-307.
    • Geerinck, D (2005). Flore d'Afrique Centrale (Zaïre - Rwanda - Burundi) Iridaceae: 1-102. Jardin Botanique National de Belgique, Meise.
    • Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • Goldblatt in Gladiolus Trop. Afr.: 119 (1996).
    • Goldblatt in Flora Zambesiaca 12(4): 76 (1993)
    • Wickens, Fl. Jebel Marra: 158 (1976).
    • G.J. Lewis et al. in Journ. S. Afr. Bot., Suppl. 10: 292 (1972).
    • Hepper, Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3: 144 (1968).
    • Mildbr. in A. Engler, Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 52: 232 (1923).
    • Baker in Flora of Tropical Africa 7: 372 (1898).
    • Baker in Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany 16: 178 (1877)

    Sources

    Flora Zambesiaca
    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0