IRIS 



THE BULB BOOK 



IRIS 



the long narrow falls having a bright 

 golden or orange patch at the base. 

 {Bot. Mag. t. 5577; Gartenfl. tt. 

 452, 779 ; Lodd. Bot. Cat. t. 1829.) 



There are many beautiful forms, 

 the most distinct being : — 



(1) Cyanea, with flower - stems 

 scarcely raised above the surface of 

 the soil, and bright blue flowers. 



(2) Histrio. — The flowers open from 

 December to March ; they are bright 

 blue blotched with golden-yellow and 

 having deep purple blotches on the 

 blade of the falls {Bot. Mag. t. 6033). 



(3) Histrioides opens its flowers 

 before the leaves appear, and these 

 are eventually stouter and longer 

 than in any other form of /. reti- 

 culata. The flowers are 4 to 5 ins. 

 across, usually of a bright blue, 

 sometimes assuming a light violet 

 tint ] the ridge of the fall is golden- 

 yellow with a white or creamy zone 

 outside veined and blotched with 

 violet. 



(4) Ilumilis. — Flowers of a rich 

 red-purple colour, the fall having a 

 bright orange or yellow ridge sur- 

 rounded by a zone of dense creamy- 

 white, broken up by dots and veins 

 of deep purple. 



(5) Krelagei. — This flowers rather 

 earlier than the type, of a more or 

 less deep claret-purple colour with 

 golden-yellow ridges to the falls. 



(6) Purpurea. — Flowers of a fine 

 deep reddish-purple, the blade of the 

 falls being particularly dark and the 

 ridge yellow. 



(7) Sophenenttis. — The flowers vary 

 in colour from a dark red-purjile to 

 a blue-purple, or to a lilac or lavender, 

 the whole having a peculiar metallic 

 sheen, and the orange ridge on the 

 falls is continued unevenly along the 

 entire length. 



There is also a form called major 

 or coeridea, having various shades of 

 pale blue. 



31 



I. Rosenbachiana. — A lovely little 

 bulbous Iris from the mountains of 

 Eastern Buchara and Turkestan, at 

 an elevation of 6000 to 9000 ft. The 

 bulbs have numerous fleshy and often 

 ovoid roots, and tufts of lance-shaped 

 bluntish leaves about 8 ins. long and 

 2 ins. broad. The sessile solitary 

 flowers usually appear from February 

 to April. The prevailing colour is 

 a combination of purple, yellow, and 

 white, but is very variable, and some 

 forms are of a rich crimson or purple- 

 blue, passing into a dull or dingy 

 lavender, while others are nearly 

 pure yellow with a few purple or 

 violet markings. There is also a 

 form with pure white flowers, with 

 a blotch of deep violet on the fall. 

 {Gartenfl. t. 1 227 ; Gard. t. 653 ; Bot. 

 May. t. 7135.) 



I. rubro-marginata. — A pretty Iris 

 about 4 ins. high, native of Scutari, 

 having red - edged sickle - shaped 

 leaves 3 to 4 ins. long, and large 

 yellow or lilac and purple-bearded 

 flowers in spring {Gard. Chron. 1875, 

 i. 524). 



I. ruthenica. — A beardless species, 

 native of E. Europe and Asia, with 

 linear ribbed leaves and fragrant 

 flowers in March and April, on 

 slender stems 1 to 4 ins. high. The 

 prevailing colour is lilac-purple, the 

 falls being veined with white. The 

 variety violacea has violet-coloured 

 blooms. {Bot. Mag. tt. 1123, 1393.) 



I. sambucina. — A native of Central 

 Europe, Asia Minor, etc., with tufts 

 of glaucous leaves 15 to 18 ins. long, 

 and clusters of large Elder-scented 

 flowers produced in May, on branch- 

 ing stems about 2 ft. high ; falls 

 claret-purple with a yellow beard ; 

 standards dull yellow, sufi"used with 

 dull claret - purple {Bot. Mag. t. 

 187) ; very near /. squalens, but not so 

 vigorous in growth. 



I. Sari. — A fine Cushion Iris from 

 1 



