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reduced to mere bristles, so that at first sight they seem to 

 be absent. On the other hand, the plant betrays its affinities to 

 I. Sisyrinchium, in the filaments of the anthers being in part of 

 their course united together. We may place side by side with 

 these structural features the geographical distribution of the 

 species. While the Reticulata group, as we have seen, is confined 

 to the east, and the Xiphium group to the west, Iris tuber osa 

 stretches from almost the extreme west a long way towards the 

 east. Beginning at the west in Southern France, we may trace 

 it through the Riviera, Corsica, Sicily, Middle and Southern 

 Italy, past Dalmatia to Greece and the Grecian Islands, and even 

 to Turkey. So far as I know, however, it is absent from Asia 

 Minor. In width of distribution it is second only to I. Sisy- 

 rinchium, and, like that, is probably a somewhat ancient Iris. 



The flowers, which are probably known to most, are singular 

 in colour. The ground colour of the fall is an olive-green, 

 which on the blade becomes a dark, almost black, velvety 

 purple ; this combination, with an occasional admixture of 

 yellowish or of bright green streaks, is to my mind, as to that of 

 many others, especially charming ; it has a beauty all its own. 

 The flower is single, borne on a stalk of variable length ; the 

 spathe-valves (one of which is often missing) are large and 

 swollen, and the relatively large swollen pod is a conspicuous 

 object when the foliage is ripening. 



The flower differs in minor characters, in form and in colour, 

 in its different habitats, so much so that authors have made 

 more than one species ; but we ought probably not to consider 

 them as other than mere varieties. 



As regards the cultivation of I. tuberosa, I can only say that 

 in this country it seems to need the sunniest, driest spot which 

 can be given to it ; and, so far as my experience goes, it dofts better 

 in a moderately light loam than in any other soil. Where it 

 thrives, it is perfectly hardy, in the sense that though the foliage 

 may shoot, and even acquire some height, in late autumn, the 

 severest winters leave it untouched ; but it is sorely tried by the 

 harsh spring winds and dry cold which are apt in England to 

 visit us in March and April, when it should be in flower. Yet ic 

 is exceedingly capricious. In some places it refuses to flower, 

 and, indeed, to grow. In my own garden it multiplies rapidly, 

 and, indeed, I find a difficulty in getting rid of it from any place 



