| |
|
 | |
| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
|
| |
|
|
 |  |  |  |
| External Links: |
|
Gladiolus italicus (Field Gladiolus) |
Gladiolus italicus (IRIDACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
|
| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Gladiolus italicusMill.
Published in Gard. Dict. ed. 8, no. 2 (1768) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
|
Plant Family : |
Iridaceae Juss. (The Iris Family)
23 species from the Iridaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Field Gladiolus, Italian Gladiolus, Cornfield Gladiolus |
Maltese name(s) : |
Ħabb il-qamħ tar-raba |
Status for Malta : |
Archeophyte. Non-native species, but introduced in Malta before 1492 (Columbus'
discovery of the New World) but usually been on the Islands more than 1000 years. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Monocotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Geophyte ( perennials bearing underground bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, stolons, etc. ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
March – April |
Colour of Flowers: |
Violet |
Toxicity: |
Mildy toxic, can cause adverse conditions if consumed in large quantities |
Name Derivation : |
Gladiolus: a little sword, referring to the sword-shaped leaves of plants in this genus. (Latin origin)
italicus: originating from or related to Italy, for example described first from Italy. (Latin origin)
|
Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
Remarks : |
In several floristic work, this species was neglected and only Gladiolus italicus has been reported. A study on the Gladiolus species occurring in the Maltese Islands by Hamilton and Mifsud revealed that most of the populations of Gladiolus in Malta were instead G. communis s.l. (including Gladiolus dubius Parl. and possibly G. byzantinus Miller). |
|
|
Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Plant 50-100 cm. Basal sheaths usually pale to dark red, often spotted white or pale green. Leaves 3-5, the lowest 18-40 cm x 16 mm, the other basal leaves 35-65 cm, the cauline 5-10 mm wide, irregularly veined. Inflorescence 6- to 16-flowered, lax, usually weakly distichous. Bract always exceeding bracteole; lower bracts frequently resembling and grading into cauline leaves. Perianth bright purplish-red to light pink. Lateral perianth-segments oblong. Anthers longer than filaments, or aborted. Capsule torulose when mature. Seeds globose-pyriform, not winged. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Cultivated land.
| |
Preferred habitat in Malta |
Cultivated fields (esp. wheat, corn etc.), fallow fields
| |
Chromosome number(s) |
2n=120, 171+2 | |
Distributional range |
S. Europe, extending northwards to W.C. France.
|
Distributional maps from various sources |
|
Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Albania, the Balaeric Islands, Bulgaria, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, †He Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Romania, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part)
|
Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
|
AE(G) Ag Al Az Bl Bu Ca Co Cr Cy Eg Ga Gr †He Hs IJ It Ju Li LS Lu Ma Rf(CS) Rm Sa Si Sn Tcs Tn Tu(A) Uk(K) [Md]
|
|
| Links & Further literature
(1 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
 |
Preliminary observations from long-term studies of Gladiolus L. (Iridaceae) for the Maltese Islands |
Stephen Mifsud & Anthony Hamilton (2013) |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
|
|
Sales and Donations
|
 |
Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
|
Online Quotation (Seeds)
|
 |
Buy Images: Purchase photographs from this extensive online collection of Maltese flora by Stephen Mifsud. Images are available at reasonable prices, with rates varying according to image size and resolution. Your purchase helps support the maintenance and development of this website. When placing an order, please note the image code displayed beneath each photograph on the corresponding species page, as this is required when completing the online order form. Images are normally supplied under a license agreement, with copyright retained by the author; however, the sale of copyright for exceptional images may be considered on request.
|
Online Purchase (Images)
|
 |
Support this ad-free website Kindly consider to support this website by giving a small donation which will help to cover some expenses needed to pay the webserver and domains, maintain the website without any adverts, upgrading the code, including more wild plants and photos, and adding further data amongst other developments. You can use the links on the right for direct donations to this website by PayPal or Revolut. Even a 5 or 10 Eur donation is appreciated. Remember this website was ad*free since its launch back in 2002 and has served as an environmental educational tool for over 20 years.
|
💙 Donate by PayPal
💳 Donate by Revolut
|
|
| Contribute Information or Report Errors |
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage.
If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates; species misidentifications; incorrect or outdated information, broken links, technical website issues, or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.
Your contributions help to improve the accuracy and quality of this website. Thank you! Fill any of the three sections (A/B/C) below: .
|
|
|
|
| | |
Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
