Gladiolus permeabilis subsp. edulis

Gladiolus permeabilis subsp. edulis, previously scientifically known as G. edulis, grows above-ground parts annually from a globose corm covered in a tunic of brown netted fibres. The often slender plant reaches heights from 15 cm to 60 cm.

The plant usually grows from four to seven linear leaves in a fan-shape. More leaves are grown when more than two stem-branches develop. The midribs are slightly thickened, as are the margins. A couple of the leaf-tips may reach from halfway up the inflorescence to exceeding it.

A flower spike of up to 15 flowers is produced.

The subspecies distribution is widespread across South Africa in all nine provinces, absent from the west of the Northern Cape and the far west of the Western Cape, but occurring in Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

The habitat is diverse, including karoid scrub, renosterveld, succulent karoo and more. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

What the subspecies name, edulis, (a Latin word meaning edible) refers to is unknown. Maybe some mammals dig up and eat the corms (Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; www.bioone.org; www.pacificbulbsociety.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).