Gladiolus Facts
Gladiolus Facts
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| Interesting Gladiolus Facts: |
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| Gladiolus has erect unbranched stem that can reach 2 to 5 feet in height. |
| Entire plant develops from the short, thick, roundish underground stem called corm. |
| Gladiolus produces 1 to 9 narrow, sword-shaped green leaves with horizontal grooves. Leaves can be plain or cruciform on the cross-section. |
| Gladiolus produces trumpet-shaped flowers arranged in the form of one-sided spike on top of the flowering stem. Flowers can be white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, mauve or green colored (all imaginable colors except blue). They are often covered with stripes and blotches of various colors. Certain varieties of gladioli have wavy, frilled or ruffled petals. Flowers contain both types of reproductive organs (perfect flowers). |
| Gladiolus blooms during July and August. Large (and occasionally fragrant) flowers attract bees, sunbirds, moths, flies and wasps, which are responsible for the pollination of this plant. |
| Fruit of gladiolus is oblong or globular capsule filled with brown, winged seed. |
| Gladiolus can be propagated via seed and corms. |
| Name "gladiolus" means "little sword" in Latin. Name refers to the sword-shaped leaves of this plant. Gladioli were symbol of gladiators (more precisely of their swords) in the ancient Rome. Gladiolus was better known as "xiphium" in the past (from the Greek word for the sword: "xiphos"). |
| Gladiolus is also known as "sword lily" even though these two types of plants (lilies and gladioli) are not closely related. |
| Gladiolus stands for remembrance and infatuation, faithfulness and honor in the language of flowers. |
| Gladiolus is an official birth flower for August. |
| Gladioli are used for the preparation of various bouquets, especially those intended for the celebration of the 40th wedding anniversary. |
| Gladioli were used in medical purposes in England in the past. Underground stems (corms) were used as poultices and to facilitate extraction of thorns and splinters from the skin. Mixture made of dry, ground corm and goat's milk was used in treatment of colic in babies. |
| Consumption of gladioli can induce symptoms of intoxication in humans and animals. Some varieties of gladioli can induce skin irritation in sensitive persons. |
| Gladiolus is perennial plant (lifespan: more than 2 years). Parts of the plant above the ground die before winter. New plant emerges from the corm during the next spring. |
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