Gladiolus communis L.

Spice Capsules Capsule detail Flower In the field

Family: IRIDACEAE

Genus: Gladiolus

Sinònims: Gladiolus illyricus Koch.

Catalan common name: Espaseta. Rossinyol. Xuclamel.

Spanish common name: Cresta de gallo.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza. Formentera. Cabrera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Geophyte.

Habitats: Wild olive trees and other sclerophyllous shrublands. Juniperus phoenicea subsp. turbinata forest. Pine wood and shrubland with rosemary and thyme garigue. Dry and stony soils. Shrublands.

Characteristics: This gladiola lives in garriques (Mediterranean woodland), and is the smallest of all, with quite narrow leaves and purple flowers, which are quite a lot darker than the other species of this genus.