Common Name:

General Information

Gladiolus dalenii is an erect, robust, perennial plant growing from an underground corm that is up to 30mm in diameter. It produces 6 - 10 sword-shaped leaves up to 120cm long and a flowering stem around 70 - 120cm tallr[, ].
The plant is commonly used as a local source of food, medicines and a soap. It is gathered from the wild and also sometimes cultivated, including outside its native range in west Africa[, ]. The plant is also strikingly ornamental and widely cultivated in gardens - it has become a parent of many large-flowered ornamental forms[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Africa - most countries but absent from the Sahara and N. Africa, the Namibian desert and Somalia.

Habitat

Grassy places and open woods; at elevations up to 2,000 metres in Natal[]. Both dry and wet meadows, occasionally also in boggy places[]. Grassland, rocky ridges[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Corm
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Gladiolus dalenii is native mainly to the seasonally dry tropical regions of Africa. It is found in areas with summer rainfall[].
Prefers a sunny sheltered position in a well-drained, light, sandy, neutral to slightly acid soil[, , ]. Requires a stony gritty loam.
A parent of some garden hybrids[].
The plant is said to inhibit the growth of legumes[].

Edible Uses

Corm - roasted[, ]. The starchy corms are boiled and then leached in water before consumption[]. The corm is pounded in water with guinea-corn flour[]. It can also be made into a cooling beverage[].

The anthers are removed and the flowers are eaten raw in salads, or cooked as a potherb[, ].

The flowers contain copious quantities of nectar and are often sucked by children[, ].

Medicinal

A decoction of the corm) is used in parts of West and southern Africa in preparations to cure both constipation and severe dysentery[, ]]. It is also highly esteemed in curing snake-bites[, ].

In southern Africa, the plant (under several synonyms) is a common component of the native herbalist's medicine horn (lenaka)[]. Its use in treating cases of diarrhoea and as a cold remedy are also documented[].

Other Uses

The corm is used as a soap substitute[].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse at 15°c[]. It usually germinates freely[]. The seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a warm greenhouse[]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be grown on in the pot without disturbance for their first year, giving them an occasional liquid feed to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. Pot up the small bulbs when they are dormant in the autumn, placing about 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another year or two in the greenhouse and then plant them out in late spring.
Division. Dig up the corms in early autumn, dry them in well ventilated conditions at about 20°c and then store them in a cool but frost-free place over the winter, planting them out about 10cm deep in mid spring[, ].
Cormlets harvested when digging up the corms in the autumn can be stored in a similar manner to the corms[]. Larger cormlets can be planted out in spring, smaller ones may be best grown on for a year in the greenhouse.