462 



IRIDACEAE 



Perianth-tube very short, less than 1 cm. long. ,'',,, 



Bracts contiguous or rarelv separate; stems naked or nearly so; rootstock stout; palludose species. 



Bracts scarious; interior species. 1- •'• inissoiineiisis. 



2. I. longipctala. 



3. /. tenax. 



Bracts scarious; interior spec 

 Bracts foliaceous; coastal species. 

 Bracts separate and often distant; rootstock slender. 

 Stem-leaves foliaceous. 



Steins 1 -flowered; flowers deep violet-purple. 

 Stems 2-flowered. , , , , ■ j- i t 



Bracts scarious; flowers white veined with lilac; capsule depressed-globose; pedicel scarcely 



equalling the ovary. 4- /• tenuis. 



Bracts not scarious; flowers yellow veined wath lilac, or lilac-purple; capsule oblong; pedicel J-J 

 times the length of the ovary. 5- \' hartwegi. 



Stem-leaves bract-like, the basal solitary, elongated. 6. 1. bracteala. 



Perianth-tube elongated 2 cm. long or more. , , , , , c „..a 



Perianth-tube rather stout, 15-20 mm. long; leaves m age arched, dark glossy green on upper suitace and 



pale beneath, reddish at base. 7. /. douglasiana. 



Perianth-tube very slender, 25-80 mm. long; leaves pale glaucous green. . . 



Stems clothed with more or less overlapping inflated sheathing bract-like leaves with very short attenuate 



blades. • 8. /. purdyu 



Stems with 1-3 leaves, their sheathing bases not inflated, their blades 5 cm. long or more. 

 ■ Flowers cream-color, with lilac veins; stem 10-30 cm. tall; perianth-tube 25-40 cm. long. 



9. /. cahfornica. 

 Flowers lilac-purple; stems very short; perianth-tube filiform, 4-8 cm. long. 10. /. macrosifhon. 



1. Iris missouriensis Nutt. Western Blue-fla"- or Iris. 



Iris missouriensis Nutt. Journ. Acad. Philad. 7: 58. 1834. 

 Iris tolmieana Herbert, Hook. & Am. Bot. Beechey 396. 1839. 

 Iris caurina Herbert, Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 206. 1839. 



Rootstock stout. Stem rather slender, usually 

 simple, terete. 2-5 dm. high, l-2-flo\vered ; leaves 

 mostly basal, green sometimes purplish below, shorter 

 than or about equalling the stem, 4-10 mm. wide, 

 bracts dilated, scarious, 4-7 cm. long, acute or acumi- 

 nate ; flowers pale blue, variegated; pedicels 15-.50 

 mm. long; perianth-tube 6-8 mm. long, narrowed 

 below ; sepals 5-6 cm. long, glabrous and crestless ; 

 petals a little shorter; capsule oblong, 3-5 cm. long, 

 10^15 mm. broad, obtusely 6-angled ; seeds obovate, 

 4 mm. long. 



Wet meadows. Arid Transition Zone; British Columbia to 

 Dakota, south to Arizona and southern California. In the Pa- 

 cific Coast it is mainly east of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Divide, 

 extending as far south as San Diego County, ^California. Tyi)e 

 locality: "toward the sources of the Missouri." 



Fig. 1130. 



2. Iris longipetala Herbert. 

 Long-petaled Iris. Fig. 1131. 



Iris longipetala Herbert, Hook. & Am. Bot. Beechey 395. 

 1841. 



Rootstock stout. Stem stout, 3-5 dm. high, 3-5- 

 flowered ; leaves mainly basal, about equalling or 

 longer than the stem, 5-10 mm. broad ; bracts ap- 

 proximate, foliaceous, 7-10 cm. long, acuminate ; 

 pedicels stout, 25-50 inm. long; flowers bright lilac; 

 sepals 6-8 cm. long, 25-30 mm. broad, narrowed 

 to a short claw, white below and veined with 

 violet, the midvein yellow ; petals 5 cm. long, ob- 

 lanceolate ; perianth-tube about 6 mm. long ; anthers 

 18 mm. long; styles broadly crested; capsule ob- 

 long. 5 cm. long, narrowed at each end; seeds 

 flattened. 6 mm. long. 



In meadows or on moist grassy slopes. Humid Transition 

 and Upper Sonoran Zones; coastal region of central Cali- 

 fornia, Contra Costa County and San Francisco, to Monterey. 

 Type localitv: not given, but probably Monterey. 



