14. Gladiolus L. N.v.: Gladiola.
Por J.E. Henrich y P. Goldblatt.
Perennes estacionales con cormos globosos con túnicas fibrosas, reticuladas a unguiculadas. Hojas pocas a numerosas, aplanadas a teretes, equitantes. Tallo florífero simple o ramificado; inflorescencia una espiga; espatas grandes, herbáceas. Flores zigomorfas, de colores variados, los tépalos unidos en un tubo; tépalos subiguales o el superior mucho más grande y los 3 inferiores formando un labio; filamentos unilaterales y arqueados (dispuestos simétricamente en algunas spp. del S. de África); estilo filiforme con 3 ramas cortas, apicalmente expandidas. Cápsulas ovoides a cilíndricas; semillas numerosas, aladas en la circunferencia. Aprox. 150 spp. Europa, Medio Oriente, África.
Las plantas en los mercados y jardines de Centroamérica son de origen híbrido y han sido conocidas en horticultura desde hace muchos años. Las flores son grandes y de varios colores.
Herbs, perennial, from corms. Stems simple or branched. Leaves 1–9; blade lanceolate to linear, plane or margins and/or midribs variously raised and thickened (then H- or X-shaped in cross section), or evidently terete, midribs and margins much thickened, grooved; grooves 4, narrow, longitudinal. Inflorescences spicate, partly to fully secund or with flowers weakly distichous; bracts green, sometimes flushed grayish purple, unequal, outer usually exceeding inner, acute or inner forked or notched apically. Flowers somewhat fragrant, zygomorphic [actinomorphic]; tepals basally connate into tube, variously colored, usually with contrasting markings comprising nectar guide on outer tepals, usually unequal, dorsal tepal largest, arched to hooded over stamens, outer 3 tepals narrower; perianth tube obliquely funnel-shaped to cylindric; stamens usually unilateral; anthers usually parallel; style usually arching over stamens, dividing into 3 filiform branches, these distally expanded. Capsules usually slightly inflated, oblong to ellipsoid or globose [rarely nearly cylindric], softly cartilaginous. Seeds usually many, broadly winged; rarely few, wingless, globose or angular; seed coat light to dark brown. x = 15.
Leaves few to several, the lower (2)3 entirely sheathing and mostly below ground (cataphylls); foliage leaves usually synanthous (more or less fully developed at flowering), or hysteranthous (developing after flowering on the same shoot or borne on separate shoots), few to several, basal or cauline, blades well developed or reduced and largely to entirely sheathing, lanceolate to linear and plane or filiform and terete, the margins, midrib and sometimes also other veins thickened and hyaline (margins sometimes winged).
Inflorescence a spike with flowers secund or, in a few species, distichous); floral bracts usually green, soft to firm, sometimes dry and brown at anthesis, relatively large, the inner usually smaller than the outer.
Flowers zygomorphic (actinomorphic in a few species from South Africa, Zaire and Madagascar); tepals united in a well developed, sometimes very long perianth tube; subequal, or unequal with the uppermost broader and arching to hooded over the stamens, the lower 3 narrower, shorter or longer than the upper.
Perennial herbs with corms, aerial parts dying back annually; corms with coriaceous to fibrous and reticulate tunics.
Stamens unilateral and arcuate; filaments included or exserted from the perianth tube; anthers unilateral (symmetrical in actinomorphic flowers).
Style exserted; style branches simple, expanded above and sometimes apically bilobed.
Seeds usually many, with a broad membranous wing about the circumference (wingless in a few species).
Herbes'à corme souvent globuleux, parfois stolonifère. tunique avec des fibres en réseau parallèle; tige généralement simple, parfois ramifiée, subcylindrique; cataphylles 2-3.'Feuilles'distiques, équitantes, généralement basilaires à caulinaires durant l'anthèse, parfois latérales avant ou après l'anthèse sur une tige distincte.'Inflorescence'en épi, rarement 1-flore; spathes absentes; bractées présentes, accompagnées d'une bractéole interne.'Fleurs'sessiles, subactinomorphes à nettement zygomorphes et parfois bilabiées; périgone à tépales soudés en un tube plus ou moins évasé et incurvé, à lobes égaux à nettement inégaux, le supérieur médian souvent arqué et les 3 inférieurs ou les 5 autres formant parfois une lèvre inférieure; étamines généralement disposées unilatéralement, rarement divergentes, insérées vers le sommet du tube du périgone, à filet libre et à anthère subbasifixe à médifixe, rarement mucronée ou apiculée; ovaire ovoïde à subcylindrique; style filiforme; stigmates 3. terminaux, oblongs, entiers ou bilobulés.'Capsules'globuleuses, ovoïdes, ellipsoïdales à subcylindriques.'Graines généralement aplaties et anguleuses à ailées.\n\t\t\t\tGenre d'Europe et d'Afrique méditerranéenne, d'Asie du sud-ouest mais surtout d'Afrique tropicale, subtropicale et australe ainsi que de Madagascar, comprenant près de 200 espèces. Pour la Flore : 28 espèces dont 3 avec chacune 2 variétés.
SELECTED REFERENCES
Goldblatt, P. 1996. Gladiolus in Tropical Africa. Portland. Goldblatt, P. and J. C. Manning. 1998. Gladiolus in Southern Africa. Cape Town.
| Name | Language | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn-flag [Latin gladiolus, little sword, alluding to the leaf shape] |
|
