Gladiolus is a favorite garden
flower related to our blue flag. There are about 170 species, mostly
from southern Africa. They are included in the general name of "Cape
bulbs." The Hottentots are said to find as considerable an article of
food in the bulbs which they collect as our Western Indians do in the
camass bulb. As in the case of blue flag, the gladiolus has sword-shaped
leaves and a flower stalk crowded with showy, irregular flowers. After
the flowering season it will be found that the plant has produced a new
corm, which must be cared for in winter and reset in the spring. A
number of small bulblets are formed about the main bulb. These may be
used to advantage to produce new plants.
