Fynbos Friday 39: Gladiolus Carmineus

Today we bring you the Gladiolus family in all her glory, this specific belter is the carmineus.  The common name is the Hermanus Cliff Gladiolus.  There isn’t a lot to be said about the Gladiolus family medicinally, but they are one of my favourites to photograph as it can be the most challenging in terms of attempting to photograph said flower while it is looking its best. I suppose much like making wine there is only a small window of opportunity and timing is crucial.

I have been tweeting about this specific flower for about a week now, with a twitpic here and here and it just keeps surprising me with more and more flowers on the spike every time we trek up the mountain to have a look see.   Gladiolus by the way is from the Latin word meaning sword, due to the shape of the leaves and the flower spike.  Yet another reason why I utterly adore the Gladiolus family is because it keeps it secrets right up to flowering time.  Unless you are fortunate enough to know the specific location of last year’s bulbs and which species they were, to correctly identify the Glad’s you have to keep returning to said area until the spike delivers its flowers.  Which means lots and lots walking amongst the Fynbos.   Which is a great way to spend time.

What is slightly disturbing about this week’s edition, is that in all the reference books the flowering time is listed between December and April, which is clearly rather unseasonal to be photographing the flowers in August.  One just needs to drive out to the winelands and see the alarming number of vines going through budding at this stage to ring the alarm bells.  While the weather is great and its practically summer time, the vines are not sleeping and this could be disastrous for next year’s crop.   But wont detract from enjoying the weather while we can.  Hope you have a great long weekend, spoil the women in your life with a big bunch of Fynbos on Monday!