100 A COMPENDIUM OF 
Iris Florentina, Florentine Orris.—Natural 
order Iridacee. This is known as the white flag 
in Europe; it is a native of Southern Europe, in 
and about the city of Florence, Italy. The Iris 
family derives its name from the word Iris, 
meaning the rainbow (a fabulous goddess of the 
ancients)—in other words, from the various tints 
of the flowers. Orris is a perennial plant 2 to 4 
feet (30 to 120 centimeters) high, with showy 
white flowers, having delicate streaks of tint; 
odor fragrant; the perianth six-parted, the three 
outer divisions spreading or curled; the three 
inner ones small and erect, with sword-shaped 
leaves. The rhizome of the Orris has many 
joints from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) 
long, broadest near the upper portion, termina- 
ting in the scar, the insertion of the leaf. Or- 
ris, as it occurs in commerce, is of an irregular 
shape, of a creamy-white color, fragrant, with 
an odor closely resembling the violet ; when bro- 
ken the fracture is short and mealy; taste to 
many agreeable and somewhat bitter. It is still 
employed in Europe as a remedy, and said to 
have the same medicinal virtues as the Iris Ver- 
sicolor. It is only used in this country as an in- 
gredient in face and tooth powders. ‘There is 
Said to be an African and German Orris so 
closely Tesembling the Florentine Orris in ap- 
pearance that in all probability there is much 
more of the spurious article in the market than 
of the genuine, especially as the root only differs 
in a few minor points, The flower in the spu- 
rlous varieties is blue and variegated, more like 
the blue flag of our own continent. There is 
one point to which it is well enough to call at- 
