606 IRIS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



IRIS. 



but they are poor in effect, nothing like 

 so handsome as the self-coloured kinds, 

 nor do we care about the more double 

 varieties. In these the natural grace and 

 fine outline of the flower are lost. When 

 transplanted this moisture-loving Flag 

 does not bloom well until the second 

 season after planting. Propagated by 

 division or seeds, which should be sown 

 as soon as gathered either in pots or in 

 the open ground; they will vegetate in the 

 following spring. 



I. Kolpakowskiana. An ally of I. 

 reticulata and introduced from Turke- 

 stan, it is perfectly hardy in the open air, 

 flowering about the same time, and effec- 

 tive in groups. The chief difference from 

 the netted Iris is in the bulb and leaves, 

 which are narrow, linear, deeply channelled 



Iris iberica. 



on the inner face, with a central band or 

 rib like a Crocus leaf, and pale-green with- 

 out the glaucous tint usual to this group. 

 The falls are deep violet-purple, with a 

 beardless bright yellow keel from which are 

 purplish branchings, whilst the standards 

 are pale self-lilac with creamy anthers. 



I. Korolkowi. Of this the leaves are 

 tall, narrow, and upright, the scape, which 

 is about i ft. or so high, bearing two large 

 flowers of delicate shades of gray and 

 brown, and beautifully veined. Warm 

 and dry spots on the rock garden. 



I. lacustris (Dwarf Lake Iris}. A 

 dainty, quite hardy Iris, with beautiful 

 sky-blue flowers in spring and again in 

 the autumn. It belongs to the rhizo- 

 matose group, is free both in growth and 

 bloom, and succeeds in full sun and in 

 sandy soil. North America. 



I. Lorteti. This Iris comes from 

 South Lebanon. In general features it is 



near to I. Sari, but its wonderful colouring 

 makes it, perhaps, the most beautiful Iris 

 in the world. " In a plant flowered by 

 myself this summer (1893)," writes Prof. 

 Foster, " the falls showed a creamy-yellow 

 ground marked with crimson spots, con- 

 centrated at the centre into a dark crimson 

 signal, while the standards were nearly 

 pure white, marked with very thin violet 

 veins, hardly visible at a distance. 



I. lupina (Wolfs Ear It is}. This is 

 from Armenia and Central Asia Minor, 

 and resembles both I. susiana and I. 

 iberica. The rhizome is compact and the 

 foliage, though somewhat variable, is 

 dwarf like that of I. iberica, and 3 in. or 

 so in length. The flower, borne on a 

 stem varying from I in. to 6 in. or even 

 more in length, differs in form from both 

 I. susiana and I. iberica in that the fall is 

 distinctly lance-shaped, whilst the colour- 

 ing consists of irregular brownish-red 

 veins on a yellow or greenish-yellow 

 ground, the red of the veins often 

 merging into purple. The claw of the 

 standard is furnished with quite numerous 

 hairs. 



I. Marise, which belongs to the iberica 

 group, was discovered on the confines of 

 Egypt and Palestine. The rhizome is 

 compact, rather slender, the foliage being 

 not unlike that of iberica, but narrower. 

 The flowers, on a stem of about 6' in. high, 

 are somewhat smaller than I. iberica, of a 

 uniform lilac colour, though marked with 

 veins, but the uniformity is broken by a 

 conspicuous "signal" patch of deep purple 

 on the fall. The standard is larger and 

 more rounded than the fall, whilst the claw 

 of the latter is beset by numerous deep 

 purple hairs, which, scattered at the sides, 

 are crowded together along the middle 

 line more after the fashion of the beard of 

 an ordinary bearded Flag. 



I. Meda is a native of Persia, and has 

 a small, slender, and compact rhizome. 

 The leaves are narrower than I. iberica, 

 and for the most part erect, the stem being 

 about 6 in. in length, more or less, but 

 seems to vary a good deal. The fall, 

 which spreads horizontally, is narrow and 

 pointed, the blade being sharply curled 

 back on itself. The standard is rather 

 larger than the fall, and the style, which 

 lies close down on the claw of the fall, 

 is narrow, ending in two small triangular 

 crests. 



I. missouriensis (Missouri Flag). 

 This was found in the Rocky Mountains, 

 and is a good kind, graceful, and with 

 delicate purplish-blue flowers, which are 

 valuable to cut in the month of May. It 

 grows well in a border of good soil, and is 



