1 86 THE BOOK OF THE IRIS 



the style ; standards very small, lanceolate-spathulate, an 

 inch long; style arms ij to 2 in. long, with large sub- 

 quadrate crests ; capsule oblong, buried among the 

 leaves ; seeds oval. A native of Portugal and Spain to 

 Sicily, Algiers, Morocco, Sardinia and Greece. A white 

 variety is found in Spain and in the Atlas mountains. 

 There is a variety, presumably of coppery colour, called 

 CUpreata, the origin of which is not known. Others 

 are speciosa and lilacina from the Atlas mountains, 

 nigrescens, cinerea, and magna from Sicily, but none 

 of these appear in English catalogues. Messrs Barr & 

 Son offer a variety under the name atro-caerulea, with 

 flowers of deep blue. At Kew a white variety is 

 cultivated. In pots the plants may flower with leaves 

 only 2 in. long. 



In favoured localities of the southern counties this 

 species may flourish, especially if suitably cared for, but 

 it grows and flowers in winter, so that elsewhere it is 

 practically impossible to make it flourish permanently. 

 Well ripened bulbs are easily flowered in pots. They 

 should be potted in summer or early autumn, and plunged 

 in ashes until frost threatens, when they must be trans- 

 ferred to a shelf in the greenhouse. I once planted it 

 on rockery under a light, at foot of a south wall, and 

 flowers were produced, the plants living, I think, for 

 about three years. The bulbs are not expensive. The 

 earlier may flower in October, the later in January. 



136. I. palaestina,, Boiss., FL Orient, v. 122 ; Foster 

 in Bulbous Irises, p. 38, fig. 23 ; p. 79, fig. 54. I have 

 little reason for including this species ; it is difficult of 

 cultivation, and hardly worth trouble, but, being found 

 on Mount Hebron, Mount Carmel, and in the Valley of 

 the Jordan, it is as likely, perhaps, to be brought here 

 by travellers as /. Variant, which sometimes comes to 

 hand. The bulb is ovoid, I to l| in. diam. ; the coats 

 brown and membranous ; stem very short, hidden among 



