Saunders' Field Guide to Gladioli of South Africa

Botanists and seed collectors Rod and Rachel Saunders set out on what seemed to some to be an impossible mission - to find and photograph, in full bloom, all gladioli species found in South Africa and to collect and share their observations in a field guide. They had found all but one species before their untimely deaths at the hands of kidnappers in a forest in KwaZulu-Natal.

In the wake of this tragic event, friends and colleagues collaborated to keep the Saunders' dream alive. This book is the result their collective efforts.

Gladioli are showy bulbous plants that fall within the Iris family, and the bulk of species are endemic to South Africa. Comprehensive and lavishly illustrated with more than 1,300 photographs, this guide covers the 166 Gladiolus species known to occur in the region.

The book is divided into seven taxonomic sections, according to the species' distinguishing features. Each species is presented on a double-page spread, with a full plate of color photographs, including close-ups of diagnostic features, different color forms and habitats. Botanical descriptions cover identification (corm, cataphyll, spike, bracts, anthers, pollen, capsules, seeds, and scent), distribution, pollination, conservation status, and notes on ecology and the authors' personal observations in the field. Distribution maps and flowering periods are given for each species, and tables highlight differences between similar-looking gladioli.

There are almost 300 recognized species, widely distributed across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, with more than half of the species found in southern Africa, making this book useful to botanists world-wide, as well as to horticulturist, propagators, students, gardeners and anyone with an interest in natural history.

Author: Rod Saunders, Rachel Saunders, Fiona Ross
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Published: 01/06/2022
Pages: 360
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.73lbs
Size: 8.28h x 6.04w x 0.96d
ISBN: 9781775847618

About the Author
Saunders, Rod: - "Rod Saunders was a widely respected botanist in South Africa and abroad. He traveled extensively in search of seed for his indigenous seeds company, Silverhill Seeds, and was a partner in Frontier Laboratories, a propagation specialist business. Internationally renowned for his intimate knowledge of South Africa's indigenous plants, he had a passion for bulbs in particular - resulting in a project to locate and photograph every known species of Gladiolus in South Africa. It was at the end of this project, while visiting a forest reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal, that he and his wife Rachel were abducted and killed in 2018."Saunders, Rachel: - "Rachel Saunders was a widely respected botanist in South Africa and abroad. She traveled extensively in search of seed for her indigenous seeds company, Silverhill Seeds, and was a partner in Frontier Laboratories, a propagation specialist business. Internationally renowned for her intimate knowledge of South Africa's indigenous plants, she had a passion for bulbs in particular - resulting in a project to locate and photograph every known species of Gladiolus in South Africa. It was at the end of this project, while visiting a forest reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal, that she and her husband Rod were abducted and killed in 2018."Ross, Fiona: - Fiona Ross is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cape Town. Together with Andrew Hackland, her husband and the Saunders' business partner, she took on the project of completing this field guide, which the couple had initiated before their deaths.