Gladiolus ecklonii flower

This Gladiolus ecklonii flower has suffered. Its tepals, especially the outer ones have served as food to something hungry, probably an insect. Still, the vital floral parts required for reproduction should be functional. Perfection is not an imperative for life to be good. As for people, so for plants.

The spotted tepal surfaces may be very finely dotted, particularly in the case of some of the pink corollas, almost to the point of appearing unspotted, meaning uniformly coloured. In picture the pink colouring unevenness is also caused by fine, darker veins, partly reticulated. The triangular, yellow nectar guides low inside the lateral, lower tepals are not quite straight line delineated, also partly white. There is a tiny tip of such a nectar guide visible at the uncovered lowest part of the central tepal, lowest in the flower. The dorsal tepal in picture has two white patches low down, while the base of the cup is green.

The three stigma branches at the tip of the style are present below the dorsal tepal. There are also some creamy oblong anthers where the throat widens (Goldblatt, and Manning, 1998; iNaturalist).