no THE BOOK OF THE IRIS 



black ; standards orbicular, 3 in. long, 2 in. broad, un- 

 spotted purplish black ; style branches an inch long, 

 crests small ovate. A "signal" patch is distinguishable 

 on the fall of black purple, but no veins are evident, 

 while on the standard variation of deeper colour may 

 be distinguished. Introduced from Syria by Messrs 

 Dammann & Co., who distinguish a variety called 

 " Odysseus." 



59. I. susiana, Linn. Sp. Plant. 55, Curt, in Bot. 

 Mag., t. 91 ; Flore des Serres, t. 1067 to Io68. The 

 " Mourning Iris." Of this section this species is the 

 best known and one of the least difficult to grow. It is 

 a curious and desirable plant. The rhizome is stout ; 

 the leaves sometimes a foot or more long and nearly an 

 inch broad of distinctly yellowish green. The stem is 

 from | to I ft. long, bearing two to three long leaves ; 

 spathes exceptionally two-flowered, 3 to 4 in, valves 

 green, ventricose, scariose towards the tip at flowering 

 time ; pedicels short. The perianth-tube is cylindrical, 

 I to if in. long ; limb 3 to 4 in. long, the prevailing 

 colour a dark-grey produced by numerous veins and dots 

 of almost black-brown, with tinge of purple on creamy 

 white ground, which acquires a brownish hue owing to 

 the diffusion of colour from the margins of the veins and 

 dots. The falls are obovate-cuneate, rather longer than 

 broad, with the hairs of beard black ; the standards with 

 orbicular blade broader than the fall ; the style arms I J 

 in. long ; crests very large and recurved. It is a native 

 of Asia Minor and Persia. 



I. livida, Tratt. (Red. Lil., t. 18) is a variety with 

 smaller more livid and less distinctly veined flowers. 



Hybrids have been raised by Sir Michael Foster with 

 pallida as male and with iberica both ways. The crosses 

 were difficult to keep. 



60. I. Sarii, Schott; Baker in Gard. Chron., June 17, 

 1876, p. 788. The type is described as follows: 



