What is Gladiolus?
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Gladiolus''}} {{Taxobox | name = ''Gladiolus'' | image = Gladiolus 7-19-06.JPG | image_width = 250px | image_caption = ''Gladiolus'' | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Liliopsida]] | ordo = [[Asparagales]] | familia = [[Iridaceae]] | subfamilia = [[Ixioideae]] | tribus = [[Ixieae]] | genus = '''''Gladiolus''''' | genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] }} '''''Gladiolus''''' (from [[Latin]], the [[diminutive]] of ''gladius'', a [[sword]]) is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the iris family ([[Iridaceae]]). Sometimes called the '''sword lily''', the most widely-used [[English language|English]] common name for these plants is simply '''gladiolus''' (plural '''gladioli''', '''gladioluses''' or sometimes '''gladiolas'''). == Description == The genus ''Gladiolus'' contains about 260 species, of which 250 are native to [[sub-Saharan Africa]], mostly [[South Africa]]. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. There are 160 species of ''Gladiolus'' endemic in southern Africa and 76 in tropical Africa. The species vary from very small to the spectacular giant flower spikes in commerce. These attractive, perennial herbs are semihardy in temperate [[climate]]s. They grow from rounded, symmetrical [[corm]]s, that are enveloped in several layers of brownish, fibrous tunics. Their [[Plant stem|stems]] are generally unbranched, producing 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved [[leaf|leaves]], enclosed in a sheath. The lowest leaf is shortened to a [[cataphyll]]. The leaf blades can be plane or cruciform in cross section. The fragrant [[flower]] spikes are large and one-sided, with [[secund]], bisexual flowers, each subtended by 2 leathery, green [[bract]]s. The [[sepal]]s and the [[petal]]s are almost identical in appearance, and are termed tepals. They are united at their base into a tube-shaped structure. The dorsal tepal is the largest, arching over the three [[stamen]]s. The outer three [[tepal]]s are narrower. The [[perianth]] is funnel