ONCOCYCLUS 1 1 1 



Rhizome short ; leaves linear, | ft. long at flowering time, 

 finally attaining a foot, to J in. broad ; stem, 3 to 6 

 in. long ; spathe of two equal lanceolate valves reaching 

 to the base of the limb ; ovary sessile (or pedicel very 

 short) f in. long; tube, I in. long; limb, 3 in. long, 

 bright lilac ; falls obovate-cuneate, I \ to 2 in. broad 

 with a diffused beard J in. broad; standards broader 

 than the falls and a little longer, orbicular; style 

 branches above an inch long ; crests very large, reflexing. 

 Var. lurida, Boiss. Bot. Mag., t. 6960. This is the 

 plant that has been cultivated and not improbably, I 

 think, is distinct specifically from /. Sarii. It has ensiform 

 leaves | in. broad, and falls which distinctly differ from 

 the standards in colour. They are covered with very 

 thick, irregular, netted dark brownish purple lines or 

 veins, on a pale brownish yellow ground, which appears 

 as a venation of that colour. The standards are some- 

 what lilac with veins and spots of a darker shade. The 

 name of this species is derived from the river Sar, in 

 Cilicia. It inhabits Asia Minor and Syria. 



61. I. Heylandiana, Boiss. Fl. Orient, v. 130. 

 The leaves are linear, glaucescent, falcate, 8 to 9 in. 

 long, J in. broad. The stem is about a foot long ; the 

 spathe-valves lanceolate, green, membranous, and 3 in. 

 long ; the pedicel short. The perianth-tube is an inch 

 long, limb ij to 2 in. long, the falls obovate-cuneate 

 veined with brown-violet or black-purple veins on a 

 dingy-white ground, the hairs of the beard white, more 

 or less tinged with yellow ; the standards rather broader 

 than the falls and nearly round, are similar in coloration. 

 The crests are short, broad, and crenulate. Is native of 

 Mesopotamia. 



62. I. Lorteti, Barbey, Herbor. Levant, t. 7 ; Bot. 

 Mag., t. 7251 ; Garden, Feb. l8, 1893, P* ate ^97 > Gard. 

 Chron., Aug. 6, 1892, p. 152, fig. 27. " Perhaps the 

 most beautiful Iris in the world." In coloration it is 



