196 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Iris continued. 



I. humilis (low). A., limb bright lilac, liin. to 2in. deep; falls 

 oblong-spathulate, beardless ; claw exceeding the blade ; standards 

 rather shorter, oblanceolate-unguiculate, erect ; spathe sessile in 

 the centre of the cluster of leaves, one-flowered. I. about a 

 dozen, in a basal rosette, linear, glaucous, ribbed. Stem none. 

 Southern Russia, Siberia, &c. 



I. hybrida (hybrid).* fl., limb 2in. to 2Jin. deep ; falls obovate- 

 cuneate, IJin. to liin. broad, reflexing half-way down, 

 lilacrpurple at the tip, copiously veined lower 

 colour on a pure white ground ; beard yellow ; standards the same 

 breadth, erect, obovate-unguiculate, pure white, or slightly tinged 

 with lilac. June. 1. about 1ft. long, lin. to liin. broad, purple at 

 the base. Stem forked low down, with three or four terminal 

 spathes. A handsome garden race of unknown origin according 

 to Mr. Baker, probably derived from /. sqtuUens. SYN. /. 

 There are a number of desirable varieties. 



- 



ay down, plain, deep 

 r down with the same 



FIG. 327. FLOWER OF IRIS IBERICA. 



I. iberlca (Iberian).* fl. solitary ; limb Sin. deep ; segments nearly 

 equal, ovate, obtuse, cuneately narrowed to a short claw, liin. to 

 2in. broad ; falls reflexing from near the base, closely veined like 

 those of /. susiana with dark purplish-brown, with a velvety, 

 plain, dark purple blotch at the throat ; standards erect, veinless, 

 white or pale lilac. Summer. I. few, in a basal tuft, falcate, 

 glaucous, linear. Stem Sin. to 6in. high. Caucasus. See Fig. 327. 

 (It. G. 386, 1, 2.) 



I. i. insignia (remarkable).* A very striking and handsome variety, 

 with larger flowers, and a dwarfer habit than the typical species ; 

 falls white, veined with black lines, densely spotted and blotched 

 with reddish-brown; standards lilac-white, veined and thickly 

 spotted throughout with a deeper tint of the same hue. This 

 variety should be planted in the hottest and driest part of the 

 garden, and be fully exposed to the sun. 



I. japonica (Japanese), fl., limb lilac, lin. to liin. deep, division 

 spreading falcately ; falls oblong-spathulate, iin. broad, crisped, 

 and irregularly fimbriated at the edge, spotted with yellow and 

 white at the centre, and furnished with a fimbriated petaloid 

 crest reaching two-thirds of the way up ; standards plain lilac, 

 rather narrowed. April and May. I. in a fan-like tuft, ensiform, 

 bright green. Stem 1ft. to lift, high, of which the upper half 

 or two-thirds is occupied by a lax panicle with erecto-patent 

 branches. Japan and China. SYN. /. chinensig (under which 

 name it is figured in B. M. 373, 1797). 



I. Kaempferi (Ksempfer's). A synonym of 7. Icevifjata. 



I. Korolkowi (Korolkow's). fl., limb 2 Jin. deep, groundwork 

 marked with copious dark brown veins, 



. . 



white tinged with brown, mar 



radiating from the throat ; blade of the falls oblong, liin. long, 

 lin. broad ; claw bearded ; standards rather broader, oblong- 

 unguiculate, erect. I. linear, glaucous, as long as the stem. Stem 

 1ft. to lift, high, leafy in the lower part, ending in a solitary, two- 

 flowered, terminal spathe. Turkestan, 1874. (B. G. 766.) 



Japanese Iris. fl. solitary ; limb deep 

 uiculate, reflex- 



I. laevigata (smooth). 



bright purple, Sin. to Siin. long ; falls obovate-unguic, - 



ing from low down, with a bright yellow blotch at the throat ; 

 standards oblanceolate-spathukite, purple, 2in. long, iin. broad. 

 June. I. narrow-ensiform, pale green, thin, weak. Stem lift 

 to 2ft. high firm, solid, glaucous. Siberia and Japan. A hand- 

 some species, and one of the best of the grins. SYN. 7. Kaewp- 

 feri, under which name it is most genem'Iy known. This is 

 cultivated by the Japanese as a sub-aquatic," and in England it 

 thrives best when copiously supplied with water during the 

 growing season. It succeeds admirably when cultivated in pans, 



Iris continued. 



and the bottoms of these placed a depth of a couple of inches in 

 a tank of water. (R. G. 442, 1 ; B. M. 6132.) There are a great 

 number of exceedingly beautiful varieties of this species in cul- 

 tivation, many of which produce flowers measuring quite lOin. 

 across. There are also several desirable double forms, one of 

 which, flore-pleno, is illustrated at Fig. 328. 



FIG. 328. IRIS I^KVIGATA FLORE-PLE.NO. 



I. longipetala (long-petaled). fl. in a single terminal head ; limb 

 bright lilac, 2iin. to 3in. deep ; falls obovate, unguiculate, reflex- 

 ing half-way down ; lamina obovate, lin. to 1 Jin. broad, cuneately 

 narrowed into the short claw, which has a bright yellow keel and 

 violet veins on a pure white ground ; standards erect, oblanceolate- 

 spathulate, 2in. long, iin. broad. Summer. I. firm, narrow-ensi- 

 form, 1ft. to IJft. long. Stems 2ft. to 3ft. high, solid, compressed. 

 California, 1862. (B. M. 5298.) 



I. longispatha 0ng-spathed). A synonym of 7. ensata. 



I. lurida (dingy), fl., limb 2iin. deep ; falls oblong, lin. broad, 

 reflexing half-way down, cuneately narrowed to the base, having 

 the upper part plain dead purple, and the lower half veined 

 with dead purple on a yellow groundwork ; beard bright yellow ; 

 standards rather broader, with a crisped, veinless, dull purple 

 blade and veined yellow claw ; spathes one or two-flowered. 

 April. I. ensiform, slightly glaucous. Stems deeply forked, about 

 2ft. high. Eastern Europe, 1758. Closely allied to 7. variegata, 

 but inferior as a decorative plant. (B. M. 986.) 



I. lutescens (yellowish).* /. 2iin. deep ; falls pale yellow, tinged 

 and veined with purplish-brown, oblong, nearly or quite lin. 

 broad, with a reflexing blade as long as the claw ; beard bright 

 yellow ; standards broader, erect, primrose - yellow, narrowed 

 suddenly to the claw. May. I. ensiform, slightly glaucous. 

 Stem terete, glaucous, unbranched. South Europe. (B. M. 2861.) 



I. missouriensis (Missouri), fl., perianth tube funnel-shaped, 

 iin. to \\n. long ; outer segments of limb 2in. to 2iin. long, 

 veined with lilac-purple on pale groundwork, and faintly keeled 

 with yellow towards base of limb ; inner segments nearly as long 

 as the outer, plain lilac-purple. May. I., produced ones about 

 four to a tuft, linear, not more than 1ft. long, Jin. to 4in. broad, 

 narrowed gradually to the point, firm in texture. Stem bearing 

 a single cluster of two or three flowers. Rocky Mountains, 1880. 

 (B. M. 6579.) 



I. Monnieri (Monnier's).* /. fragrant, clustered; limb bright 

 lemon-yellow, Sin. to Siin. deep; falls roundish, eighteen to 



