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habit (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
elongated flower cluster (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
flowers (Photo: Ros Shepherd)
close-up of flowers from side-on (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)
Scientific Name
Gladiolus communis L. subsp. byzantinus (Mill.) A.P. Ham.
Synonyms
Gladiolus byzantinus Mill.Gladiolus communis L.Gladiolus illyricus Koch ex Sturm (misapplied)
Family
Iridaceae
Common Names
Byzantine gladiolus, cornflag
Origin
Native to parts of southern Europe (i.e. Italy, Corsica and Spain) and northern Africa (i.e. northern Algeria, northern Libya, Morocco and Tunisia).
Naturalised Distribution
Naturalised in many parts of southern Australia (i.e. in southern Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and in the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia).
Also naturalised overseas in some parts of eastern USA (i.e. in Kentucky and Tennessee).
Notes
Byzantine gladiolus (Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus) is regarded as a minor environmental weed in Victoria and Tasmania. It also grows along roadsides and around old settlements in between Busselton and Augusta in south-western Western Australia.