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plant showing any admixture of I. xiphium and I. xiphioides, 

 with either as seed-bearer. 



Beyond the two types spoken of above, the wild forms of 

 I. xiphium do not vary much in structural features ; but Mr. 

 Maw, some years ago, sent me a plant which he had found in 

 the Sierra Nevada, having some special characters ; and two or 

 three years ago I received, by the kindness of the esteemed 

 botanist of Algiers, M. Durando, a bulbous Iris found by M. Bat- 

 tandier near the Marais de la Rassanta in Algiers. The flowers of 

 this, which are of a beautiful pure white colour, differ so markedly 

 in form from those of I. xiphium as to justify varietal, if not 

 specific, distinction. In all the ordinary forms of /. xiphium the 

 fall is fiddle- shaped in outline ; in this it is hardly more than 

 spathulate. It almost deserves the specific name of I. Battan- 

 dicri ; but, on the whole, I am inclined to speak of it as a variety 

 or sub-species. It is a very handsome plant, but, so far as my 

 experience goes, not so robust as the type. 



Concerning an Iris inhabiting Algeria, and known as I. Fon- 

 tanesii, since I have not as yet been able to obtain it for cultiva- 

 tion, I will, for lack of knowledge, say nothing, except that while 

 some have apparently given this name to Algerian specimens of 

 /. xiphium, others believe it to be a form of an Iris of which I 

 will speak directly, I. tingitana ; and others, again, regard it as 

 a distinct species. For a similar lack of knowledge, I will say 

 nothing of the I. serotina of Wilkomm, since this also I have 

 never seen ; but from the description it seems hardly more than 

 a small variety of /. xiphium. 



As a near ally to I. xiphium comes the I. filifolia of Boissier, 

 found in Spain, at Gibraltar, and in Morocco, and differing on 

 the one hand by possessing a perianth tube, though this feature 

 seems variable, and on the other hand chiefly by the red-purple 

 colour of the flowers, and by the great breadth of the " signal " 

 or golden patch on the blade of the fall beneath the stigma. It 

 is also less robust than I. xiphium, and has scantier foliage, 

 though a form in which the leaves are relatively large and broad 

 occurs near Tangier. It crosses readily with /. xiphium, the 

 offspring having intermediate characters. 



More common than the above in Morocco is I. tingitana, 

 which has a most distinct perianth tube above the ovary, and the 

 bulbs and flowers of which are much larger than in either 



