Gladiolus gregarius
Welw. ex Baker
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(c) Marco Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
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(c) Jed Bird, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A slender herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 30-80 cm tall. The corm is fibrous. It is 2-3 cm across. There are 4-7 leaves at the base. The leaves on the stem are shorter. The flower spike has 8-20 flowers. They are green. There are overlapping flower bracts along the stem. The fruit is a narrow capsule 12-15 mm long.
Edible Uses
The starchy corms are eaten as a traditional food source.
Traditional Uses
The corms are starchy and eaten.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
The corm, when dried and powdered, is used as an emetic to counter poisoning.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in moist savannah.
Where It Grows
Africa, Angola, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Propagation
Seed -sow thinly in a pot and grow on without transplanting for the first year. Pot up the small bulbs when they are dormant. Division. Young corms can be separated from the parent plant and should be planted out 12 cm deep, spaced at 12cm. Deep planting helps the plants stay upright.
Notes
There are about 150-300 Gladiolus species.
Synonyms
References (9)
- Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 31 (Also as Gladiolus klattianus)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2. Kew.
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London. (As Gladiolus klattianus)
- Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 24
- J. Hutchinson & J. M. Dalziel, Fl. W. trop. Afr. 2:379. 1936 (As Gladiolus klattianus)
Show all 9 references Hide references
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 16 (As Gladiolus klattianus)
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 33 (As Gladiolus klattianus)
- Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. ser. 2, 1:268. 1878
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
