XIPHION 155 



funnel-shaped ; the claw of the fall is broad, overlapping 

 the style at the sides, and covering in the base of the 

 standard. 



The " Thunderbolt Iris " is a form of this variety, 

 and it is a very fine plant growing 2 ft. or more in 

 height and producing a flower which requires a circle 

 5 in. in diameter to enclose it. The flowers are of a 

 peculiar bronzy colour, as if due to a contest between 

 yellow, purple and brown, and the " signal" patch of 

 yellow on the fall is remarkable for its breadth. The 

 pedicel is i\ in. and the ovary 2 in. long. An illus- 

 tration will be found in Sir Michael Foster's Bulbous 

 Irises, p. 22. It does not of itself bear seed, and is 

 perhaps a cross between /. lusitanica and I. filifolia. 



Var. Battandieri, Foster in Bulbous Irises, p. 65, with 

 parts of the flower illustrated on p. 66. The flowers are 

 of pure dead white with the exception of a bright orange 

 ridge on the fall. The bulb, foliage and general habit 

 are as in the type, except that the leaves are very 

 glaucous. The claw of fall is not separated from the 

 blade by a marked constriction ; the latter is emarginate, 

 and the whole together very nearly obovate-cuneate in 

 outline, yet with a slight bending in of the marginal line 

 near the middle. The edges are very revolute. The 

 standards are tall and much twisted. A native of Algiers 

 in the Marais de la Rassanta. 



The following is a good selection of garden forms : 



Avalanche, falls snowy white with large golden 

 blotch, standards china white, crimped. 



Blue Beauty, falls azure blue with yellow blotch, 



standards violet. 

 *Blanche superba, one of best whites. 



Cantab, falls Cambridge blue with orange blotch, 

 standards dark azure. 



Golden King, falls glowing deep orange, standards 

 deep golden yellow. 



