ON IRISES 227 



which grows barely six inches high, bears blue and 

 yellow flowers in early spring. It appears in the 

 Botanical Magazine, t. I. It is a very old plant, but is 

 still esteemed by amateurs, and so are its varieties, of 

 which Heldreichii, lavender, violet, and yellow, is one of 

 the best. Reticulata is a lovely Iris, having violet 

 flowers crested with yellow, and is scented with the 

 odour of Violets. It grows about six inches high, and 

 blooms in winter. It is best grown in pots in a cold 

 frame. Krelagei is a variety of it which is much grown, 

 although it is not so bright as reticulata and lacks 

 perfume. 



Harking back a little, we find the pretty cushion 

 Iris, paradoxa, the white flowers of which are veined 

 with blue and furnished with a crimson beard. It is a 

 very old plant, and has many varieties. Rosenbachiana is 

 a bulbous Iris, with blue and yellow flowers, which appear 

 in March. 



The old blue Siberian Iris, sibirica, is a good species, 

 which I find one of the best of the genus on chalk, 

 although it is reputedly a strong-soil plant. The flowers 

 are not large, but they are borne in great abundance on 

 a healthy clump, and rise nearly three feet above the 

 ground. It is a rhizomatous species, and the root forms 

 a thick mass when established. It is not wise to disturb 

 it frequently. There are several varieties of it, notably 

 a white. Sindjarensis is a bulbous Iris bearing lilac 

 flowers in February or March. It is a very pretty 

 plant, and a plate of it appears in the Botanical 

 Magazine, t. 7145. Sisyrinchium is also a bulb. It 

 grows about nine inches high, and bears lilac flowers, 

 spotted with yellow, in April. It is given in the 

 Botanical Magazine, tt. 1407, 1696. Squalens, an old 

 rhizomatous species, introduced in 1768, grows from 



