Gladiolus sericeovillosus (Large speckled gladiolus)

[= Gladiolus ludwigii]

Bloupypie [Afrikaans]; sidvwana [Swazi]; udwendweni, isidwi esincane, umlunge [Zulu]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Asparagales > Family: Iridaceae > Genus: Gladiolus

Uses

• In Zulu medicine, the corm is used to make a medicine to ease birth of the placenta, and a decoction of the corm is used as an enema to relieve pain during menstruation (dysmenorrhoea) (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk 1962 p. 504).
• The corm is said to be used in southern Africa for treating impotence (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk 1962 p. 504).

Publications

• Goldblatt P. and Manning J. 1998. Gladiolus in Southern Africa. Fernwood Press, Vlaeberg, Cape Town.
• Watt, J.M. and Breyer-Brandwijk, M.G. 1962. The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa. Second Edition. E. & S. Livingstone Ltd., Edinburgh.

Text by Hamish Robertson