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Bulbous perennial with corms from the Iridaceae family, this species is native to the western Mediterranean basin, naturally present in southern Spain, North Africa, and Sicily, where it grows in garrigues, wastelands, and cultivated fields on well-drained and poor soils.
It reaches 60 to 90 cm in height, forming upright clumps of medium green linear leaves, sheathing, characteristic of Iridaceae. The floral stems are slender, often tinged with dark purple at their base, bearing unilateral spikes of 10 to 20 funnel-shaped flowers, of an intense bright magenta to purple, with slight whitish streaks on the lower tepals. The color, of remarkable saturation, is one of the most striking features of the species.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to June. In cultivation under temperate climates, it also blooms in May-June, sometimes as early as the end of April in the warmest situations.
Unlike garden hybrid gladioli, it is hardy down to about -15°C in well-drained soil and naturalizes easily, multiplying by division of the corms. It thrives in full sun, in any light to draining soil, without particular requirements, and establishes itself durably without intervention.