Gladiols

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Gladiols (Gladiolus, also called swordflower, from Latin gladius "sword") are a plant genus in the family of sword lilies (Iridaceae).

Dissemination
Native to the species of this genus from southern Europe to the Middle East to Africa and Madagascar. The species with the most striking and colorful flowers come from South Africa.

In Central Europe, they serve mainly as ornamental plants.
In Central European territory, the sump-victory and the meadow-victory occur in Germany. The distribution area of the Swamp-Siegwurz is in southern Germany. They can be found on the Bavarian Lechtalheiden between Landsberg am Lech and Augsburg; Also on the Rotstein and in the Dauban Forest (both Saxons) is a significant stock of wild Gladiols to be found.

Description
Gladiols are evergreen or leafy, persistent herbaceous plants that can reach heights of up to 1.50 m. They form tubers as survival organs. Especially the leaves smell unpleasant. The foliage leaves either sit in base rosettes or are distributed alternately and in two lines on the stem.
The simple, long, often sword-shaped foliage leaves are parallel annoying. The blade edge is smooth.

Terminal, branched or unbranched, other inflorescences containing supporting leaves are formed. Some flowers smell something. The unsteady, twisty, three-fold flowers can be radially symmetric to zygomorphic. There are two times three coat leaves; they can be identical or different in both circles. Apart from blue, brown and pure black, the flower coat leaves come in all colors. There is only the inner circle with three free, fertile stamens, because they are opposed to the outer coat leaves. Three fruit leaves have grown into a subordinate fruit knot. The stylus ends in three scars.
Pollination occurs in many ways: entomophilia, ornithophilia or anemophilia. The three-fold capsule fruit contains 20 to 100 seeds. The light to dark brown seeds are usually winged.

Use
The flowers of some species can be eaten raw or cooked. The underground plant parts of some species are eaten cooked.

Use as ornamental plant
Only a few Gladiols are in culture north of southern Europe, decisive is their lack of winter hardness. As ornamental plants, in particular as cut flowers, hybrids from the group of garden glass diols (Gladiolus × hortulanus) are cultivated, which are often very large-flowered. These Gladiols originate from numerous South African parental species. The flowers of butterfly or butterfly glass diols, on the other hand, are always small, multi-colored and have a corrugated edge.

Use as bioindicator
Gladiols are among the plants that are already visible at low inorganic fluorine concentrations in the air