Gladiolus is the largest genus in the Iridaceae family with around 255 species. They are perennial bulbous flowering plants, sometimes called Sword lilies, but usually by its generic name, Gladiolus. It has been studied by taxonomists and now includes the genera Acidanthera, Homoglossum, Anomalesia and Oenostachys. The geographic range includes Africa, Madagascar, Europe, and the Middle East. They are treasured the world over for their beautiful, showy flowers which grow on tall spikes. These plants are often planted in cut flower gardens or in the back along the border, as they grow 60cm to 1.8 m tall. They make excellent cut flowers and are easily grown in raised garden beds and rockeries. Most Gladioli do equally well in pots. Gladioli are the flowers associated with a fortieth wedding anniversary.

Gladiolus reginae is a rare and critically endangered South African endemic species known from only two populations where plants grow in open woodland in rocky outcrops, partially shaded by shrubs and trees, in heavy metal-enriched soils. Growing from 40cm to 1.5m, it has unscented long tubed flowers in an erect spike. Flowers are pale flesh-pink flushed deeper salmon and the lower three tepals are flushed deep red in the basal third with longitudinal lines. The upper three tepals are flushed deep red at the base. Flowering takes place during autumn from mid-March to mid-April but may skip a year if it’s too dry.