Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
Do you need
volunteer, community service, work, military or court hours?
|
|
Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
|
|
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GEO-GNU |
|
|
GLADIOLUS , a genus of monocotyledonous plants, belonging to the natural order Iridaceae. They are herbaceous plants growing from a solid fibrous-coated bulb (or corm), with long narrow plaited leaves and a terminal one-sided spike of generally bright -coloured irregular flowers
xII.3shaped and widening upwards, the segments equalling or exceeding the tube in length. There are about 15o known species, a large number of which are South African, but the genus extends into tropical Africa, forming a characteristic feature of the mountain vegetation, and as far north as central Europe and western Asia. One species G. illyricus (sometimes regarded as a variety of G. communis) is found wild in England, in the New Forest and the Isle of Wight. Some of the species have been cultivated for a long period in English flower-gardens, where both the introduced species and the modern varieties bred from them are very ornamental and popular. G. segetum has been cultivated since 1596, and G. byzantinus since 1629, while many additional species were introduced during the latter half of the 18th century. One of the earlier of the hybrids originated in gardens was the beautiful G. Colvillei, raised in the nursery of Mr Colville of Chelsea in 1823 from G. tristis fertilized by G. cardinalis. In the first decade of the l9th century, however, the Hon. and Rev. W. Herbert had successfully crossed the showy G. cardinalis with the smaller but more free-flowering G. blandus, and the result was the production of a race of great beauty and fertility. Other crosses were made with G. tristis, G. oppositiflorus, G. hirsutus, G. alatus and G. psittacinus; but it was not till after the production of G. gandavensis that the gladiolus really became a general favourite in gardens. This fine hybrid was raised in 1837 by M. Bedinghaus, gardener to the duc d'Aremberg, at Enghien , crossing G. psittacinus and G. cardinalis. There can, however, be little doubt that before the gandavensis type had become fairly fixed the services of other species were brought into force, and the most likely of these were G. oppositiflorus (which shows in the white forms), G. blandus and G. ramosus. Other species may also have been used, but in any case the gandavensis gladiolus, as we now know it, is the result of much crossing and inter-crossing between the best forms as they developed (J. Weathers, Practical Guide to Garden Plants). Since that time innumerable varieties have appeared only to sink into oblivion upon being replaced by still finer productions.The modern varieties of gladioli have almost completely driven the natural species out of gardens, except in botanical collections. The most gorgeous groupsin addition to the gandavensis typeare those known under the names of Lemoinei, Childsi, nanceianus and brenchleyensis. The last-named was raised by a Mr Hooker at Brenchley in 1848, and although quite distinct in appearance from gandavensis, it undoubtedly had that variety as one of its parents. Owing to the brilliant scarlet colour of the flowers
pink
hardy
A deep and rather stiff sandy loam is the best soil for the gladiolus, and this should be trenched up in October and enriched with well-decomposed manure, consisting partly of cow dung, the manure being disposed altogether below the corms, a layer at the bottom of the upper trench, say 9 in. from the surface, and another layer at double
II organo-metallic compounds, and thus promoted research in branches of organic chemistry where those bodies are especially useful. Mention may also be made of his work on phosphorus, on explosive substances, such as iodide of nitrogen, gun- cotton
interest
End of Article: GLADIOLUS If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/GEO_GNU/GLADIOLUS.html"> GLADIOLUS </a> |
|
|
(Previous) GLADIATORS (from Lat. gladius, sword) |
(Next) GLADSHEIM (Old Norse Gladsheimr) |
|
Sponsored Advertisements