Gladiolus watsonius
Thunb.Corm up to 2.5 cm diam. Leaves basal or sub-basal; first leaf 50–80 cm long, glabrous, tough, fibrous, midvein and margin thickened; subsequent leaves 2 or 3, shorter than first leaf. Inflorescence with scape terete, unbranched; 3–7-flowered. Primary bracts narrowly ovate, 4.5–6.5 cm long. Flowers red. Perianth tube 3.5–5 cm long; cylindric portion 2–3 cm long, with pouch-like swelling basally; adaxial lobe hood-shaped, 2–3 cm long; other lobes spreading, unequal, 1.5–3 cm long. Anthers included, 8–10 mm long, purplish. Style 6–7 cm long. Flowers Aug.–Nov.
Naturalised in WA, SA. Native to South Africa. Reported once in Victoria around 1940, but no locality was given.
It reproduces by underground bulbels and is not known to produce seed in Australia.
Conn, B.J. (1994). Iridaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 686–716. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
