Gladiolus liliaceus

Gladiolus liliaceus, the large brown Afrikaner, in Afrikaans ribbokblom (rhebuck flower) or aandpypie (little evening pipe) and previously scientifically G. grandis, is a cormous perennial reaching 30 cm to 80 cm when flowering. The globose corm is about 15 mm in diameter. Its tunics form woody or leathery layers.

The species distribution is in a broad coastal strip in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula as far north as Clanwilliam and eastwards into the Eastern Cape as far east as Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).

The habitat is clay or loam flats and slopes of the mountain ranges, more in renosterveld than fynbos. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Goldblatt and Manning, 1998; Mustart, et al, 1997; iNaturalist; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).