Tab. 7926. 

 iris geaciltpes. 



Native of Japan. 



Nat. Ord. IridaceyK. — Tribe Mor^e*. 

 Genua Iris, Linn. ; (Benth. et Hoolc.f. Gen. Plant, vol. iii. p. 686.) 



litis (Evansea) gracilipes; csespitosu, snbscaposa, gracilis, 6-12 poll, alta, 

 rhizomate gracili ramoso, caulibus sterilibus brevissimis, foliis, absque 

 paucis inferioribus minoribus, membranaceis 3-5 tenuibus linearibus inter- 

 num latinsculis 6-12 poll, longis acutissimis circiter 6-nerviis cum inter- 

 mediis tenuioribus, caulibus floriferis folia caulorum sterilium vixexcedenti- 

 bus 2-vel 3-foliatis 2-vel 3-floris, foliis 2-3 poll, longis, pedunculis gracillimis, 

 floribus in spathis brevibus tenuissimis solitariis sessilibus erectis pur- 

 pureis vel lilacinis circiter 2 poll, diametro, perianth ii tubo brevissimo, 

 limbi segmentis exterioribus oblongis apice emarginatis recurvis medio 

 albis purpnreo-striatis 1 uteo- crista tis, interioribus minoribus concoloribus, 

 styli cristis concoloribus fimbriato-dentatis, 



I. gracilipes, A. Gray Bot. Jap. in Mem. Amer. Acad. n.s. vol. vi. p. 412. 

 Franch. et Savat. Enum. PI. Jap. par3 ii. p. 41. Honzo Zufu, vol. xxiii. 

 p. 11, fig. dextr. Baker, Handb. Irid. p. 22. 



I. sibirica, Somohu Zusetsu, vol. ii. p. 10 (11 Jap.), non Linn. 



This elegant little Iris belongs to the small section or 

 sub-genus Evansea, distinguished among the rhizomatous 

 eeries by having a distinct crest on the lower part of the 

 blade and claw of the outer segments of the perianth. 

 Mr. Baker, in his u Handbook of the Irideae," enumerates 

 eight species, all of which, except the North American 

 I. lacustris, Nutt., are, or have been, in cultivation. They 

 are : — I. nepalensis, D. Don. (Sweet's British Flower 

 Garden, series 2, t. 11); I. speculate ix, Hance (Bot. Mag. 

 t. 6306) ; J. cristata, Ait. (Bot. Mag. t. 41.2) ; /. Milesii, 

 Foster (Bot. Mag. t. 6889) ; I. tectorum, Maxim. (Bot. Mag. 

 t. 6118), and I. japonica, Thunb., syn. I. chinensis, Curt. 

 (Bot. Mag. t. 373). With the exception of /. cristata, a 

 native of the Eastern States of North America, all the 

 species named inhabit Asia, ranging from the North-west 

 Himalaya to China and Japan. 



I. gracilipes is in cultivation both at Kew and Cam- 

 bridge. Kew procured it from Mr. Max Leichtlin in 

 September, 1902, and it flowered in pots in a cold frame, 

 and also in an open bed during last spring. Mr. R. I. 

 November 1st, 1903. 



