The gladiolus stands out in its beauty and therefore has become one of the more popular flowers to have tattooed. There are clearly many choices for the tattoo enthusiast when looking for a floral tattoo, but we think once you get to know the gladiolus flower, you might be more willing to go in that direction. You may look at this flower and assume because of it’s daintiness and its beauty that the gladiolus tattoo might only be for women. If you thought that then you would be mistaken because not only does the gladiolus symbolize many feminine qualities, the masculine traits are there as well.

In this post we will talk about the symbolism and meaning behind the gladiolus tattoo. Not only will we review what this beautiful flower symbolizes but also review some of the different ways we have seen the gladiolus tattoo depicted. We hope that by the end of this post you will have a better idea of what it means to have a gladiolus tattoo and the different ways it can be tattooed on the body.

What is a Gladiolus

Gladiolus is a member of the iris family. They have the nickname of ‘sword lily’ but it is usually called by the name we all know.

The gladiolus is native to South Africa, Mediterranean Europe and Asia as well as other tropical areas of Africa.

These flowers grow from symmetrical, rounded corms that are enclosed in many layers of fibrous tunics. The stems of the gladiolus are unbranched and produced between one and nine thin, sword-shaped, longitudinal furrowed leaves that are enclosed in a sheath. This is where they get their nickname, sword lily, from.

The gladiolus didn’t become popular in the United States until the late 19th and early 20h century. The popularity of this flower ended up spawning the American Gladiolus Society in 1910. The initial membership of the Boston based group was 75 but has grown since. This group looked to study the gladiolus and test out varieties of the flower to look for remedies for disease.