Field Gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus) – the most elegant of the wild flowers of Crete…
The lovely bright pink Field Gladiolus is also known as Gladiolus italicus, Italian Gladiolus or Wild Gladiolus and is a gorgeous example of the wild flowers of Crete.
We’ve seen the lovely magenta flower at the eastern part of the island around Elounda and Agios Nikoloas and also to the west of Crete around Georgioupolis and the resorts of Kalvyves and Almerida in the Chania prefecture.
The ancient Greek name for the wild gladiolus was xiphium, from the Greek word xiphos, also meaning sword. This elegant slender plant sometimes referred to as Wild Gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus) is a wonderfully decorative flower that is simply stunning when you see it through the olive groves and surrounding meadows.
If you enjoy nature photography or painting wild flowers you’ll love these graceful and vibrant flowers as a subject matter. Here on the Greek island of Crete March and April are probably the best months for these flowers when they are in full bloom and fill the meadows with their deep pink colour. Around 8 to 16 deep pink flowers grow on a single tall spike like stem and sway gently in the spring breeze. In meadows masses of this vibrant pink wild flower brigten up the landscape.
Others suggest he was transformed into the elegant Field Gladiolus. The love rival Zephyros grew jealous of Apollo and one day as the pair were playing discus, blew the discus off course causing it to hit Hyakinthos and kill him. The grieving Apollo then transformed the dying youth into the beautiful flower of the wild gladiolus. We can highly recommend the excellent and informative hand book named Wild Flowers of Crete in which Field Gladiolus features. It is expertly written and photographed by Vangelis Papiomitoglou. The text and images are a real boon to the explorer wanting to easily identify the many wild flowers of Crete. A crucial and affordable handbook for all nature lovers of the flora and fauna of Crete.
"More than 1,700 different species are met on Crete. Such wealth can be better understood if it is considered that Great Britain, which has a surface area about 30 times greater, has fewer species of which hardly a single one is endemic." "This book presents more than 500 plants - the most representative of the island - from the most common to the rarest. Little explanatory texts which focus on the botanical characteristics of the plants, on mythological references to them and often on the etymology of their names, together with a large number of photographs, make the book an essential source of reference for every nature-lover." Another brilliant book we are very happy to recommend is the wonderful Plants of Crete – Healing, Aromatic and Edible. Entertainingly and informatively written by Antonis Alibertis this wonderful fully illustrated book is perfect for the Nature lover. In its 350 pages it contains colour photographs, the descriptions, habitat, properties and uses of a wide range of plants found on Crete, including endemics.
”Let's take a trip through the fascinating world of the herbs, the aromatic, edible and decorative plants of Crete. They will surely impress us with their countless characteristics and uses, transport us with their intoxicating scents, and enchant us with their unbelievable beauty, and we will learn how to recognize them more easily.” “May our acquaintance with this wonderful world of Nature instil in us the love and respect which are essential for its greater and more effective protection. We - Nature and Man – are so closely bound to one another that we were meant to coexist only in harmony.”
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GLADIOLUS ITALICUS(Latin)
