60 HANDBOOK OF IRIDE^. 



54. M. TRiPETALA Kei" in Bot. Mag. t. 702. Iris tripetala Linn, 

 fil. ; Jacq. Ic. t. 221. Vicnssctixia trij^etaloides DC. — Corm ^-1 in. 

 diam. ; coats thick, cancellate upwards. Produced leaf single, sub- 

 basal, narrow linear, firm, glabrous, as long as the stem. Stem 

 very slender, usually simple, 1-2 ft. long. Spatbe cylindrical, 

 2-2^ in. long ; valves lanceolate, finely ribbed. Perianth l-l^^ in. 

 long, fugitive, lilac, rarely blue or reddish ; falls with an obovate 

 blade as long as the claw, with a yellow spot at the base ; standards 

 small, linear. Style-crests large, linear. Capsule clavate, ^ in. 

 long. 



Hab. Cape Colony ; south-western district. Vieusseuxta miitila Klatt. is 

 a variety with a pilose leaf. 



Subgenus IV. Dietes (Salisb.). 



65. M. iBiDoiDES Linn. Mant. 28 ; Jacq. Hort. Schoen. t. 19G 

 (exl. syn.) ; Ker in Bot. Mag. t. 693. M. vegeta Miller (Ic. tab. 

 239, fig. 1). Iris comprcssa Linn. fil. J. morceoides Ker in Bot. Mag. t. 

 1407. /. crassifolia Lodd. Bot. Cab. t. 1861. Dietes compressa and 

 crassifoUa Klatt. D. iridovlcs Sweet. — Ehizome short-creeping. 

 Leaves several in a fan-shaped basal tuft, ensiform, dark green, 

 firm, 1-2 ft. long, ^-J in. broad. Stem 1-2 ft. long, with many 

 sheath-leaves, sometimes elongated and oviparous. Clusters few, 

 laxly corymbose ; spathes cylindrical, 1^-2 in. long ; valves firm, 

 not pointed ; outer small. Perianth white, 1-2 in. long ; all the 

 segments spreading ; outer obovate-cuneate, wath a finely pilose 

 claw and a yellow keel at the base; inner segments oblong-cuneate, 

 concolorous. Style-crests lanceolate, ^-\ in. long. Capsule ellip- 

 soid, 1-1^ in. long. 



Var. M. CATENiJLATA Ker in Bot. Eeg. t. 1074. Dietes catenidata 

 Klatt. — Falls with a yellow spot in the centre, and a double row of 

 yellow papillae down the nearly glabrous claw. Styles and style- 

 crests lilac. 



Hab. Cape Colonj', extending northward to Natal and the mountains of 

 Zambesiland. M. prolongata and Dietes Macleaii are garden forms. 



56. M. BicoLOE Spae in Flore des Serres t. 744. Iris bicolor Lindl. 

 in Bot. Eeg. t. 1404 ; Paxt. Mag. ix. 29. Dietes bicolor Klatt. — 

 Habit of M. iridoides. Leaves H-2 ft. long. Stems 1-2 ft. long ; 

 clusters few, laxly corymbose. Spathes cylindrical, l|—2 in. long ; 

 outer valve short. Expanded flower 2 in. diam., lemon-yellow ; 

 outer segments obovate, with a black spot in the centre ; inner 

 segments oblong, concolorous, ^-\ in. broad. Style-crests small. 



Hab. Cape Colony ; south-eastern district. It was originally described 

 and figured from the garden of the Comte de Vandes, at Bayswater, in 1831. 



67. M. EoBiNsoNiANA F. Mull. Fragm. vii. 153 ; Hook. fil. in 

 Bot. Mag. t. 7212. Iris Bohinsoniana F. M. ; G. Benn in Gard. 

 Chron. 1872, 393, with tab. — Ehizome short. Eadical leaves firm, 

 ensiform, 5-6 ft. long. Flowering stem 5-6 ft. long ; clusters laxly 

 corymbose ; spathes 1^-2 in. long ; valves rigid, obtuse ; outer 

 shorter than the next. Perianth pure white, fugacious, 3-4 in. 

 diam. ; segments of both rows spreading, obovate, the outer above 



