| Gladiolus × colvillii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Gladiolus |
| Species: | G. × colvillii |
| Binomial name | |
| Gladiolus × colvillii Sweet | |
Gladiolus × colvillii, the scarlet gladiolus, is a hybrid Gladiolus cultigen.
The original Gladiolus × colvillii was bred by the nurseryman James Colville of Chelsea, London from the southern African species G. tristis and G. cardinalis and first described in 1823; it is still cultivated. It has deep pink flowers with a cream stripe on each of the lower three tepals.
In 1826 James Colville put on sale a white form with pale pink anthers known as G. colvillii alba. In 1871, a completely white sport with the same parentage was described: G. colvillii 'The Bride'. This cultivar is still available commercially today under the same name.
The Colvillei group of Gladiolus now includes many small (to about 40 cm tall) spring-flowering cultivars with flowers from white to pink or orange-red. Some are likely to have other southern African species such as G. carneus in their ancestry.
References
- Lewis, G.J. (1972) Gladiolus: a revision of South African species of Gladiolus. Journal of South African Botany Supplementary Volume 10.
- Cooke, D.A. (2005) in Spencer, R.D. Horticultural Flora of South-Eastern Australia vol. 5, p. 221 ISBN 0-86840-832-8
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Gladiolus ×colvillii | |
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