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IRIS 



THE BULB BOOK 



IRIS 



to a sharp point, bent into a double 

 channel, much striped on the out- 

 side, glossy green on the inside. The 

 vanilla-scented flowers, 2 to 4 ins. 

 across, appear in March and April, 

 and are of a somewhat slaty blue, 

 broken by the yellow ridge of the 

 fall and by greenish-blue veins and 

 dots. (£ot. Mag. t. 1145.) I.xsind- 

 pers is a hybrid between this species 

 and /. jjersica (Gard. Ghron. 1901, 

 xxix. 105, f. 46.) 



I. Sisyrinchium (/. fug ax ; I. 

 oegyptia ; I. samaritana ; I. junci- 

 folia ; etc., etc.) — This distinct little 

 bulbous Iris about 6 ins. high, with 

 shaggy-coated roundish bulbs and 

 arched linear pointed leaves, is the 

 " Spanish '' or " Barbary Nut " of 

 Parkinson. It is widely distributed 

 on both sides of the Mediterranean 

 shores, and is also found from Asia 

 Minor to Afghanistan and the Pun- 

 jab. The fragrant flowers appear 

 in May and June, but only last a few 

 hours. They vary in colour from 

 light blue to reddish-purple, with 

 variable spots and veins on the blade 

 of the fall, which bears a broad white 

 patch and a median yellow streak, 

 often spotted. (Bot. Mag. tt. 1407, 

 6096). There is a white-flowered 

 form ; moiioj^hylla has one leaf only, 

 and small dull-coloured flowers ; and 

 maricoides has much-spotted flowers. 



I. Sofarana. — This species from 

 Lebanon comes nearest /. Sari. It 

 has leaves 10 ins. long and about an 

 inch broad. The large solitary flowers 

 are borne on scapes about 10 ins. 

 high. The elliptic falls have a creamy- 

 white ground, but this is almost 

 obscured, and they appear to be 

 blackish-purple owing to thick-set 

 blotched and netted veins of deep 

 purple, with a beard of scattered 

 dark purple hairs on the claw, in 

 front of which is a deep black blotch. 

 The roundish standards are much 



lighter in colour than the falls. The 

 white groundwork is covered with 

 thin purple forking veins and numer- 

 ous purple spots, while the broad 

 horizontal styles are almost blackish- 

 purple. The variety magnifca is a 

 large-flowered form with red-brown 

 falls shaded with purple, and having 

 a purple crest. {Gard. Ghron. 1899, 

 xxvi. 389, 391, f. 125.) 



I. Sprengeri. — This is the smallest 

 of the Cushion or Oncocyclus Irises, 

 being only 4 ins. high, with a stolon- 

 bearing root-stock. The grey-green 

 leaves are about 4 ins. long. The 

 outer segments of the flowers are 

 yellow with bright purple-red spots 

 and veins ; the inner segments are 

 silvery-white veined with purple-red 

 and black, and the beard is golden- 

 yellow. {Gard. Ghron. 1904, xxxvi. 

 50, f. 21.) 



I. spuria. — An elegant beardless 

 Iris 1 to 2 ft. high, native of Europe, 

 Asia, Algeria, etc., with erect or 

 spreading sword-shaped leaves about 

 1 ft. long. Flowers in June and 

 July, large, and of a bright lilac 

 colour, the falls having a bright 

 yellow keel running down the claw 

 which is faintly streaked with purple 

 on a white ground. {Bot. Mag. 

 tt. 58, 1131, 1514.) 



The variety Monspur is really a 

 hybrid between this species and /. 

 Monnieri, the first syllable of each 

 parent forming the name. The 

 variety Notha is larger than the type, 

 and is said to be found wild in the 

 salt marshes of Siberia. 



I. squalens. — A very old garden 

 plant, native of Europe and Asia, 

 with tufts of glaucous sword-like 

 leaves and clusters of faintly Elder- 

 scented large flowers borne in May 

 and June, on branched stems 2 to 3 

 ft. high. The obovate wedge-shaped 

 falls are bright lilac-purple, with a 

 conspicuous yellow beard, while the 



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