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Gladiolus huillensis (Welw. ex Baker) Goldblatt

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Synonyms:	Anisanthus huillensis (Welw. ex Baker) Klatt. Antholyza degasparisiana Buscal. & Muscle. Antholyza huillensis Welw. ex Baker Antholyza pubescens Vaupel Gladiolus subulatus Baker Oenostachys huillensis (Welw. ex Baker) Goldblatt Oenostachys vaginifer (Milne-redh.) Goldblatt Petamenes degasparisiana (Buscal. & Muschl.) N.E.Br. Petamenes huillensis (Welw. ex Baker) N.E.Br. Petamenes vaginifera Milne-Redh.
Common names:
Frequency:	Occasional
Status:	Native
Description:	Plants 30–100 cm high. Corms 16–20 mm in diameter; tunics firmly membranous to papery, fragmenting irregularly into mostly vertical strips. Stem unbranched, sheathed except for a short distance below the spike, often with a short membranous sheathing leaf inserted on the upper third of the stem just above the uppermost sheathing leaf. Leaves 3–5 on flowering stem, short and sheathing for most of their length, obscurely to obviously white pubescent, imbricate, usually at least 2 with short blades to 8 cm long; blades more or less linear, the margins and midrib thickened. Spike 6–14(20)-flowered; bracts green below, dry and light-brown above, 13–20(25) mm long, sometimes sparsely pubescent above, the inner about as long as or only slightly shorter than the outer. Flowers bright-red, often marked with yellow on the lower tepals and in the throat; perianth tube slender below and abruptly expanded into a cylindric upper part, the lower part 11–16 mm long and c. 1 mm in diameter, exserted from the bracts, the upper part 10–12 mm long and c. 3 mm in diameter, ascending to horizontal; tepals unequal, the uppermost c. 15 × 15 mm, spathulate, larger than the others and extending horizontally over the stamens, the upper lateral tepals deltoid, 5–6 mm long, joined to the uppermost for c. 3 mm, the lower 3 tepals lanceolate and directed forwards, the lower lateral tepals c. 6 mm long, reaching the apices of the upper lateral tepals, the lowermost tepal shorter than the rest, c. 3 mm long. Capsules 10–16 mm long, broadly ovoid.
Type location:	Angola
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	huillensis: meaning “of Huila”, a province of Angola
Habitat:	Brachystegia woodland
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Angola, DR Congo and Zambia
FZ divisions:	B,W
Zambian distribution (Provinces):	Nw,W
Growth form(s):	Perennial.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Tuesday 4 August 2026
Literature:	Goldblatt, P. (1993). Iridaceae Flora Zambesiaca 12(4) Pages 98 - 100. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Gladiolus huillensis:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Gladiolus huillensis
African Plant Database: Gladiolus huillensis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Gladiolus huillensis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Gladiolus huillensis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Gladiolus huillensis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Gladiolus huillensis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Gladiolus huillensis
JSTOR Plant Science: Gladiolus huillensis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Gladiolus huillensis
Plants of the World Online: Gladiolus huillensis
Tropicos: Gladiolus huillensis
Wikipedia: Gladiolus huillensis

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