Gladiolus pardalinus flower

The pale-yellow flower of Gladiolus pardalinus is two-lipped or laterally symmetrical, the corolla tube obliquely funnel-shaped and about 8 mm long. The flowers have a scent described as faintly acrid.

The clawed, unequal tepals are speckled and striped red in parts. The dorsal tepal is largest, the two lateral pairs similar within pairs, the upper one bigger with pointed tips, the lower pair smaller, differently marked and round-tipped. The lowermost tepal is similar to the upper lateral pair.

The three dark-framed anthers hang as skewed rectangles with the pale style branches below the dorsal tepal that is lit up by sunlight at its back. The three-locular, inferior ovary is ovoid at the base of the style and not really in picture (Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; iNaturalist).