Quick Characteristics:
| Flower Colors: | pink |
| Climate: | winter rain climate |
Gladiolus hirsutus Jacq. has been described under many different names. For a long time it was confused with Gladiolus caryophyllaceus which has larger scented flowers and in the 1972 revision of this genus was named Gladiolus punctulatus but that name is no longer accepted as the correct name. It is widespread in the winter rainfall areas where it is found in a variety of habitats (sandy flats, mountain slopes, rocky outgroups), usually in sandstone or granite soils. It is pink to purple or white with darker streaking on the lower three tepals. The leaves are very hairy, hence the name. The first two photos were taken by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner in the southwestern Cape in September 2001 in an area that had burned the year before. The next two by Mary Sue Ittner were taken in August 2006 near the Du Toit Kloof mountain pass where we saw these blooming down the slope when we stopped to look at the view including a close-up of the latter when holding the flower helped to get the plant in focus because it was so windy. The fourth and fifth photos were taken in the Phillipskop Mountain Reserve near Stanford, by Christopher Whitehouse.
More habitat photos from Cameron McMaster from Hermanus and Napier in the Overberg.
Photos by Bob Werra, Mary Sue Ittner, and Alan Horstmann of garden plants.
