NAT. ORDER. 



Iridacece. 



IRIS FLORENTINA. FLORENTINE ORRIS. 



Class III. Triandria. Order I. Monogynia. 



Gen. Char. Corolla six-petalled, unequal. Petals alternate, jointed 



and spreading. Slig)?ias petal-form, cowled, two-lipped. 

 Spec. Char. Corolla bearded. Sitcm with leaves higher than the 

 flowers, often two-flowered. Flowers sessile. 



The root is j^erennial, ponderous, tuberous, branched, fibrous, 

 somewhat compressed, externally brown, and internally of a yel- 

 lowish white color; the leaves are sword-shaped, radical, inserted 

 into each other, pointed, shorter than the stem, and of a dull green 

 color ; the stem is round, smooth, jointed, and about a foot in height ; 

 the jloxcers are large, upright, of a white color, and often have a 

 bluish tinge; the calyx is a spatha of two valves; the corolla 

 divides into six segments or petals, of these, three stand erect, the 

 other three, w^hich are of an irregular oval shape, turn back, and 

 at the base are painted with brown lines, and bearded with yellow 

 hairs; (he Jiilaments are three, and crowned with long yellow 

 anthers ; the style is short and simple ; the stigma separates into 

 three expanded segments, resembling petals, which form an arch 

 over the stamens; the germen is long, of an obtusely triangular 

 shape, and placed below the corolla ; the capsule has three cavities, 

 which contain numerous flat brown seeds. 



This [)lant is a native of Italy, and other parts of the south of 

 Europe, where it is found growing wild in great abundance, flower- 

 ing in June and July. It was first cultivated in England by the 



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