Glad to see you!

Many members of the Iris family, Iridaceae, are stimulated to flower after fire. In the last month, three species of Gladiolus have erupted from the ground like fireworks across the burnt landscape, each telling a story of resilience and recovery.

The Kaneelpypie, also known as the Fragrant Afrikaner or Rock Afrikaner (Gladiolus guthriei), was the first of this dazzling trio to emerge, filling the air with its enticing scent. While not strictly dependent on fire to flower, this species was previously known from only very few records in the Walker Bay region. Now, several healthy populations have been observed in recently burnt veld between Pearly Beach and Stanford.

The Overberg Pypie (Gladiolus overbergensis) is found nowhere else on Earth except the low sandstone and ferricrete slopes between Stanford and Die Dam. It flowers exclusively after fire, making sightings of this robust and impressive flower a real rarity. Due to its small distribution, it is especially threatened by improper fire regimes and alien invasive plants. As such, it is sadly Red Listed as Vulnerable.

The Scarlet Afrikaner (Gladiolus priorii) is a comparatively widespread species, and is a common sight on the Cape Peninsula. Despite that fact, it had never been recorded in the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy until two populations emerged in patches of critically endangered Elim ferricrete fynbos that had been freshly cleared of aliens. It is thought that these plants were stimulated to flower by a combination of fresh sunlight and smoke from the surrounding fires.