Mary Sue wrote: >Although they don't talk of species in central Africa, when I was doing the thumbnails for Gladiolus and trying to decide how to split them up there was one on the wiki that was in that area with a photo supplied by John Grimshaw, Gladiolus watsonioides: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… >Perhaps it's a candidate to be included in the hardiness test group. There is of course the companion volume by Goldblatt, Gladiolus in Tropical Africa (Timber Press 1996), covering the 82 species recognised by him at that time. Of these a few species overlap with those covered in 'Gladiolus in Southern Africa', but the majority are rather local in their distribution. The principal exception is the ubiqiuitous G. dalenii, found throughout subsaharan Africa (and Madagascar) except in the densest rainforests or driest deserts. It extends northwards to the mountains of Yemen and western Saudi Arabia, and thus makes the nearest approach of an 'African' species to those of Eurasia (which all look rather similar and have pink/magenta/violet flowers). There is a hint in Goldblatt's book that its distribution may have been assisted by humans. On the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro it is a weed of arable fields and in fallow years can flower abundantly, colouring areas orange. Like Chris Whitehouse, my experience with unadulterated G. dalenii has not been very satisfactory, as it flowers too late in the year. Clones such as 'Boone', which may or may not be hybrids, are much more reliable. I have, however, recently been sent new material of G. dalenii that might be more satisfactory. G. watsonioides is the highest altitude Gladiolus (up to 3900 m, 12,800' on Mt. Kenya) and quite capable of withstanding nightly air frosts. The problem with it in cultivation is that it doesn't have a defined seasonal cycle and can be in growth at any time of year (although it usually flowers for me in autumn). I know people in the British Isles who attempt it outside, but I think a very sheltered site is needed for success. I should think that the San Francisco bay area would ideal with its cool summers & mild winters. There are several other red-flowered Tropical African species of which I've seen G. longispathaceus and G. abyssinicus in the Bale Mountains of southern Ethiopia. The latter has curious narrow tubular flowers with a large green bract behind them, one of several species throughout Africa with such an adaptation to bird pollination. The most important commercial species of Tropical African origin is G. murielae (Acidanthera murielae of catalogues) with a scattered but wide distribution from Ethiopia to Malawi. It is not reliably hardy in the UK. In the same section (Acidanthera) is the beautiful, pure white G. candidus, which can be abundant in grassland in the East African highlands. I would love to spend time investigating the pollinators of these two species, as I suspect that G. murielae shares a pollinator with Impatiens tinctoria (both have large white flowers with a purple centre and delicious evening perfume, and a very similar range), and in Tanzania G. candidus grows in the same grasslands as the pure white Delphinium leroyi, which is also beautifully scented. The two are similar in stature and flower size. All of these potential partners in pollination have a long nectariferous spur or perianth tube. John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Tel. 01242 870567 COLESBOURNE PARK OPEN DAYS 2007 Easter Monday 9 April, Arboretum Weekend 15-16 September Gates open 1pm, last entry 4 pm website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/