Gladiolus - Sword Lily

Japanese: グラジオラス - ぐらじおらす（英語表記）sword lily

A bulbous plant of the Iridaceae family (APG classification: Iridaceae). The genus name comes from the Latin word gladius, which means sword, referring to the leaf shape. The Japanese name is Toshobu. The plant is about 1 meter tall, with long, thin leaves that are pointed at the tip, and funnel-shaped, tubular flowers that come in a wide variety of colors, including red, yellow, and white. A representative corm species. There are more than 300 original species, which are said to be native to the Mediterranean coast, tropical Africa, and South Africa. They are broadly divided into two types, with spring-planted, summer-flowering gladioli, and autumn-planted, spring-flowering gladioli or autumn-planted gladioli. The spring-planted species are large species from eastern Africa, and 12 species have been crossbred since the mid-17th century, creating thousands of horticultural species, and it is not clear which species are the origin of today's famous species. Breeding has been progressing in various parts of Europe since ancient times, and famous flowers have been created, but full-scale breeding began in the United States and Canada around 1910. New varieties are being created one after another, including large-flowered varieties with a flower diameter of over 15 cm, long-spiked varieties with inflorescences that grow to over 1 meter, varieties that open multiple times and produce more than 12 flowers, flower shapes with wavy petals, orchid-like blooms, double-flowered varieties, and a variety of flower colors from blue, green, and black. Small-flowered varieties with a flower diameter of less than 6 cm, varieties with two-tone colors with spots in the center of the flower, and varieties with rims are being created one after another. Famous varieties with beautiful flowers include the white-flowered Heart Slab, the yellow-flowered Summer Gold, the peach-flowered Mexicali Rose, the red-flowered Fire Mountain, and the blue-purple-flowered Violetta. Autumn-planted varieties are either native South African species or hybrids between South African species and those from the Mediterranean region, where summers are dry. Compared to spring-planted varieties, the inflorescences are poor and small, but there are fragrant varieties and unusual varieties with horizontal-flowering spikes similar to freesias. Recently, rare varieties from South Africa have been introduced, such as the fragrant Alatas variety, which is less than 30 cm tall and is gaining popularity. Commonly cultivated varieties include the white-flowered Corvirialba, the peach-flowered Charm, the red-flowered Comet, and the red-purple-flowered Robinetta. All of them bloom in April and May.

[Torasaburo Kawabata May 21, 2019]

Cultivation

It has long been said that potatoes can be grown anywhere with good sunlight where potatoes can be grown, but it is best to use soil that has never been planted with other iris plants, deep soil with good drainage, and generous use of fertilizer. In the dryness of hot periods, it is best to irrigate after sunset. They are usually planted in March or April, and although there are early and late varieties, they flower in early to mid-July. They can also be grown in a controlled manner, so if you want them to flower in early October, plant them in late June. Autumn-planted seeds should be planted from mid-November to mid-December to avoid cold damage caused by overgrowing. You can also use straw mulch. Large bulbs should be planted 15 square centimeters apart, and small bulbs should be planted one per 8 square centimeters. The bulbs should be covered with soil about 5 centimeters deep from the top, and 10 centimeters deep for light soil such as volcanic ash soil. Bulbs are harvested when the stems and leaves are still yellow-green, dried thoroughly in the sun, placed in a net bag, and hung in a warm place. To produce good bulbs, leave three or more leaves on the cut flowers to promote propagation. To propagate, take the very small bulbs (kigo) that grow on the underground stems and plant them in early spring to produce high-quality bulbs.

[Torasaburo Kawabata May 21, 2019]

Cultivation history

In 1597, the English naturalist Gerrard recorded the cultivation of G. communis L. in Central Europe and G. segetum Ker. in Asia Minor. African species began to be introduced to Europe in the 18th century, but they did not really attract attention until the 19th century, when they were used for further improvement. In 1823, the English botanist Colville created a hybrid called G. × colvillei using South African species, which became the basis for early-flowering horticultural varieties. Improvements were subsequently made in France and Germany, and in the 20th century America became the mainstream for breeding. They were first introduced to Japan in 1847 (4th year of the Koka era).

[Hiroshi Yuasa May 21, 2019]

Gladiolus
There are orchid-like and double-flowered varieties, and the flower colors are diverse, including red, yellow, and white .

Gladiolus

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

アヤメ科（APG分類：アヤメ科）の球根草。属名は、葉形をラテン語で剣を意味するgladiusによる。和名トウショウブ。草丈1メートルくらい、葉は細長く先はとがり、花は漏斗(ろうと)状筒形で、花色は赤、黄、白と多彩で豊富。代表的な球茎種。原種は300種以上もあり、地中海沿岸、熱帯アフリカ、南アフリカ原産とされる。系統別に2大別し、春植え夏咲きをグラジオラス、秋植え春咲きを早咲きグラジオラスまたは秋植えグラジオラスとよぶ。春植え種は東部アフリカなどの大形系が17世紀中期から12種が交雑され、何千種もの園芸種がつくられ、今日の有名種の起源がどれであるかはさだかではない。ヨーロッパの各地では古くから育種が進み、名花がつくられたが、1910年ころアメリカ、カナダで本格的な品種改良が始まった。花径15センチメートル以上もの大輪種、花穂の穂だけで1メートル以上になる長穂種、一時多開性で12花以上つくもの、花型は波状弁、蘭(らん)咲き、八重咲きなど、花色も青、緑、黒と多彩で、花径が6センチメートル以下の小輪種や、花の中心部に斑点(はんてん)がつきツートンカラー状を示すもの、また覆輪種など、新品種が次々とつくりだされている。花のきれいな品種として有名なのは、白花のハートスラブ、黄花のサマーゴールド、桃花のメキシカリローズ、赤花の火の山、青紫花のバイオレッタなど。秋植え種は南アフリカの原種か、または南アフリカのものと地中海地方の夏に乾燥する地方のものとの交雑種である。春植え種に比べると花穂は貧弱で花も小さいが、芳香種や、フリージアに似て穂が横咲きになる変わった品種がある。最近は南アフリカの希少な品種が導入され、草丈30センチメートル未満で芳香のあるアラタス種など、人気を集めている。よく栽培されるのは、白花のコルビリアルバ、桃花のチャーム、赤花のコメット、赤紫花のロビネッタなど。いずれも4、5月咲き。

［川畑寅三郎　2019年5月21日］

栽培

日当りのよい、ジャガイモがつくれる所ならどこでも栽培できると昔からいわれているが、なるべくほかのアヤメ科植物を植えたことのない土で、排水のよい深めの土にし、肥料は多めに施す。高温期の乾燥には日没後に灌水(かんすい)するとよい。普通3～4月に植え、早生(わせ)、晩生(おくて)の差はあるが、7月上旬～中旬に開花する。また抑制栽培もできるので、10月上旬に開花させたいなら6月下旬に植えるとよい。秋植え種は11月中旬から12月中旬植えとし、伸びすぎによる寒害を避ける。敷き藁(わら)をしてもよい。植え付けの間隔は大球は15平方センチメートル、小球は8平方センチメートルに1球植えとする。深さは、球根上部から5センチメートルくらいの覆土とし、火山灰土などの軽い土は10センチメートル覆土する。球根の収穫は茎葉がまだ黄緑色のときに行い、よく日干しして網袋などに入れ、暖所に吊(つ)るす。よい球根をつくるには、切り花の際、葉を3枚以上残すとよく殖える。増殖は地下茎に発生するごく小さい球（木子(きご)）をとり、早春に植えると腰高の良球ができる。

［川畑寅三郎　2019年5月21日］

栽培史

1597年イギリスの博物学者ジェラードは、中欧のコンムーニスG. communis L.と小アジアのセゲツムG. segetum Ker.の栽培を記録した。18世紀にはヨーロッパにアフリカ産の導入が始まるが、本格的に注目を浴びるのは、それらを用いて改良が進んだ19世紀以降である。また、1823年にイギリスの植物学者コルビルが南アフリカ産を使って作出した雑種コルビレイG. × colvilleiは、早咲き性園芸品種の基となった。その後フランス、ドイツで改良が進み、20世紀にはアメリカが育種の主流となった。日本には1847年（弘化4）に初めて渡来した。

［湯浅浩史　2019年5月21日］

グラジオラス

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