A delightful fact I neglect to mention is that my beloved Gladiolus liliaceus, commonly known as the Large Brown Afrikaner and Aandpypie¹ (“little evening pipe”²), has yet another common Afrikaans name: the Ribbokblom³, that is, the “rhebok flower”!

Whence the name, I can only speculate—perhaps because the rhebok itself is as rare, or that both are found on hillsides and are brownish-grey? Nonetheless, what are the odds that two of my favourite things—an antelope and a lily—should be thus connected!

1. [aahnd-paypee]
2. After the flower that opens at night.
3. [Ribbok-blom] with a trilled “R” and a short [awh] version of the “o” in “or”.