IKIS 



THE BULB BOOK 



IRIS 



Cushion Iris about 6 ins. high, 

 from Mt. Demavend in Persia. The 

 stems bear two large rich claret-red 

 flowers, the standards of which are 

 paler, and the falls richly veined. 

 (Gard. Chron. 1906, xxxix. 364.) 



I. Douglasiana. A slender Cali- 

 fornian species 6 to 12 ins. high, with 

 tufts of thick, stiffish, strongly-ribbed, 

 linear leaves. Flowers in June, soft 

 yellow, 1^ to 2 ins. deep ; falls hand- 

 somely veined with bright lilac-purple. 

 (Bot. Mag. t. 6083 ; Gartenfi. t. 1222.) 



I. Duthiei. A native of N. India, 

 with knotty rhizomes and yellowish- 

 green leaves about 2 ft. long and J in. 

 broad. The solitary sessile flowers 

 appear in May. The lance -shaped 

 falls are reddish - lilac above, with 

 darker veins and blotches, and a 

 white beard tipped with yellow at 

 the base ; greenish-yellow beneath, 

 with the veins and blotches showing 

 through. The oblong ovate standards 

 are pale reddish-lilac with darker veins. 



I. Eulefeldi. A native of Eastern 

 Turkestan, about 1 ft. high, with 

 blue-green sickle-shaped leaves 1 ft. 

 or more long. Flowers in May and 

 June, reddish-purple; falls purple, 

 with a long white and bluish-purple 

 beard ; standards purple and reddish- 

 purple, with a yellowish claw. (Bot. 

 Mag. t. 6902.) 



I. Bwbankiana. A Persian Cushion 

 Iris near /. acutiloba and /. Meda, 

 having creamy-white flowers veined 

 with brown purple, and distinguished 

 by having its lance-shaped outer 

 segments spreading horizontally 

 (Gard. Chron. 1901, xxix. 397, f. 

 152 ; Rev. Hort. 1901, ff. 172, 173). 



I. filifolia (Xiphion filifolium). A 

 native of S. Spain and N. Africa, 

 resembling I. Xiphium in bulb and 

 foliage, and having slender roundish 

 stems 12 to 18 ins. high, with six or 

 more filiform leaves over a foot long, 

 the outer ones mottled with purple. 



300 



Flowers about the end of June, bright 

 deep purple, spotted with black, and 

 having a patch of orange on the blade 

 of the large oblong, fiddle-shaped fall. 

 (Bot. Mag. t. 5928.) 



I. flavescens. A native of E. 

 Europe and W. Asia, 2 to 3 ft. high, 

 with the habit and foliage of /. ger- 

 manica. Flowers in May, lemon- 

 yellow; falls bearded with orange- 

 yellow and veined at the base with 

 purple-brown. (Bot. Reg. 1845, t. 35.) 



I. flavissima. A native of Asia 

 Minor, 4 to 6 ins. high, with sword- 

 shaped leaves, and rich lemon-yellow 

 flowers about H ins. across. The 

 large roundish falls have an orange- 

 yellow hairy ridge, while the erect 

 spoon-shaped standards are much 

 smaller. (Gard. Chron. 25th May 

 1901, 326, f.) 



I. florentina (Florentine Iris). A 

 fine fragrant S. European species, 

 with thick, fleshy, creeping root- 

 stocks, tufts of blue-green sword-like 

 leaves, and flower-stems 2 to 3 ft. 

 high. Flowers in May and June, 3 

 to 6 ins. deep, whitish, tinged with 

 pale lavender, and having a bright 

 yellow beard on the falls. The 

 flowers in the variety albicans are 

 almost pure white. (Bot. Mag. tt. 

 273, 671.) 



I. foetldissima ( Fetid Gladwin ; 

 Roast Beef Plant). A beautiful 

 British Flag, with flower-stems 2 to 

 3 ft. high, and deep green sword- 

 shaped leaves. Flowers from May to 

 July, usually purple or bluish-lilac, 

 2 to 3 ins. deep. There is a variety 

 with pretty variegated foliage, striped 

 with ivory-white lines, which looks 

 particularly handsome in spring. 



The Gladwin flourishes in moist 

 and partially shaded places in 

 ordinary garden soil, and is rendered 

 conspicuous in the autumn by its 

 bursted pods of orange-scarlet seeds. 



I. Fosteriana. A pretty bulbous 



