Gladiolus gueinzii Kunze APNI* Synonyms: Acidanthera brevicollis Baker APNI*
Description: Herb 20–60 cm high; corm 15–20 mm diam., tunic papery.
Basal leaves linear, 25–75 cm long, 3–7 mm wide, thick, fleshy, greyish green, midvein and margins prominent; bulbils often in axils.
Scape rarely branched, sheathed by 2 or 3 reduced leaves; spike secund or subdistichous, 2–6-flowered; spathe bracts ovate to oblong, 2–2.5 cm long, slightly fleshy; inner slightly smaller, usually 2-toothed. Flowers almost actinomorhpic. Perianth pale pinkish mauve with a central white stripe or mark surrounded by pinkish purple on most lobes; tube funnel-shaped, 0.8–1.2 cm long, slightly widened towards mouth, straight or slightly curved; lobes obovate, inner 3 ± rhombic to obovate, c. 2 cm long, c. 1 cm wide, narrowed at base. Style branches oblanceolate, c. 4 mm long, level with anthers.
Capsule ± acute, 2.5–3.5 cm long; seeds 7–10 mm long.
Flowering: November–December
Distribution and occurrence: Coast between the Macleay River and Narooma. Native of S Afr. Grows as a pioneer on fore dunes.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *SC
It disperses in two ways: by winged seeds and by small corms (cormels) that can float for at least 7 months in seawater (Heyligers 1999).
Text by T. A. James & E. A. Brown (1993); edited KL Wilson (Oct 2015) Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
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