Quick Characteristics:
| Flower Colors: | pink |
| Flower Season: | late spring |
| Life form: | corm |
| Climate: | winter rain climate |
Gladiolus carneus F.Delaroche (syn. G. blandus Aiton ) has a wide distribution in the winter rainfall area of southern Africa and is found in a variety of habitats. It is a variable species that grows to about 50 cm with white to pink large flowers usually with dark spade shaped markings on the three lower lobes. It flowers late spring. This one seeds set very easily and also increases by cormlets. Photos taken in the wild, the first by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg and photos two and three by Andrew Harvie in Table Mountain National Park. Photo four is from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok. The last two photos are close-ups taken by Alan Horstmann.
The first photo was taken by Doug Westfall. The second one was taken June 2003 in Northern California of plants grown from seed, photo by Mary Sue Ittner. The third photo was taken by Jana Ulmer of plants grown from the same seed batch as the picture above. In 2004 both her population and Mary Sue's produced a lot of flowers that bloomed a very long time. Another form has been a reliable bloomer in our Northern California garden where it is planted in the ground and returns each year. Photo four by Bob Rutemoeller. Fifth photo is of an unmarked form, by Gordon Summerfield. Photo of seed on a 10 mm grid by David Pilling
