244 
Magazine for 1812, Plate No. 1496; in The Genus Iris (Plate 21, 
1913), by Dykes, and in Addisonia (Vol. 12, Plate 388, 1927), by 
Small. 
The flower stalks are rather tall and slender, and bear a terminal 
cluster of flowers well above the leaves. Vhe height of the stalk 
and the length of the leaves vary greatly with the conditions under 
which the plant is grown but, under a favorable environment, the 
flower stalk may be four or more feet in height. There are usually 
two terminal flowers enclosed in the unequal bracts, one of which 
One or more lateral flowers 
— 
is very much longer than the other. 
are generally produced in the axils of the leafy bracts lower down 
on the flower stem. 
When the flower first opens, the segments droop down, but later 
become elevated, assuming a horizontal or slightly arching position. 
The sepals, or falls, and the petals, or standards, are very similar 
in color, the former being slightly darker and richer in effect. The 
style-branches are rather narrow, with quite small crests; the tips 
of the stamens extend out as far as the stigma. These features are 
well shown in our colored plate. 
The ovary has six longitudinal ridges or ribs, which give it a 
hexagonal appearance. The mature capsule, however, is nearly 
ellipsoidal, being about two and one-half inches long by one and 
one-half inches in diameter. It encloses a large number of seeds 
arranged more or less in two rows in each of the three chambers. 
The seeds are quite large, pale brown in color, with a thick corky 
husk. They are more or less flattened, semicircular, and irregular 
in shape on account of the pressure within the developing pod. 
The iris was first described by Ker-Gawler in the Botanical 
Magazine for 1812, and illustrated by colored Plate No. 1496. 
Ker-Gawler refers to the iris as “ An unrecorded and singular spe- 
cies, differing from any known to us in the colour and inflection 
Found spontaneous on the Banks of Mississippi, 
of the corolla. 
Intro- 
in low grounds not far from the town of New-Orleans. 
duced into this country in 1811, by Mr. Lyon, a very intelligent 
and industrious collector of North-American plants. Hardy. 
Blossoms in June. Seeds freely, and is easily propagated by di- 
viding the rootstock.” 
Two years later, Pursh, in his Flora of North America (1: 30, 
1814), described the same plant as Jris cuprea, again referring to 
