Talk Report – February 2018
Christmas in the Drakensberg (and the hunt for Gladiolus symonsii) By Rea Borcherds Unsurprisingly, gladiolus, with its long, sharply pointed leaves, is named after the Latin word for a sword, hence its common name, ‘sword lily’. This showy plant and popular cut flower is familiar to gardeners and florists world wide, but what may be less known is the fact that it is hybridized and cultivated from a rather insignificant native South African plant, Gladiolus daleni. This, and other interesting facts about gladioli, emerged from Rachel Saunders’ talk last Saturday. She kept the audience captivated…read more