IKIS FAMILY. 417 



++++ Floivcrs numerous in a stiff iermimd (jenerallu l-sided spike. 

 14. GLADIOLUS. Coruiou.s. Stem ratbei- tall, leafy ; lloweis inogular, the short-funnel- 

 shaped tube bein^ .somewhat curved, and the divisions more or less unequal, the 

 flower commonly oblique or a.s if somewhat 2-lipped. Perianth tubular at base, the 

 6 divisions all more or less sprcadinp:. 8tainrns .separate. Style lonjr. Stipmas 3, 

 more or less dilated. Stamens (inserted on the tube) aii<l style asccnding^. Leaves 

 sword-shaped, strongly nerved. 



1. IRIS, FL()WER-1)E-LL;CE, blue flag. (Greek, the TOiJiftow.) 

 Main' interesting and curious species cultivated in choice collections. 

 Flowers spring and early summer. (Lessons, Figs. 58, 59, 395, 396.) 



§ L Iris proper, ivith creeping rootstorks or rarely the root fibrous. 

 {Native species of our region belong here.) 



* Tall, the serernl-floirered often branching stems 1^-3° high; tube of the 

 fliiwer short ; jlowers late spring and sximmer. 



t- Outer divisions (or ''fills''') of the perianth beardless and cvestless. 



++ Floioers yellow. 



/. Pseuddcorus, Linn. Ykllow Iris. Wet marshes in Eu., with very- 

 long linear leaves and bright flowers, is sparingly cultivated, and some- 

 times spontaneous. 



++ ++ Flowers copper-colored or dull reddish-brown. 



I. fulva, Ker. (I. cuprea.) Flowers 2' long, the tube about the 

 length of the <i-angled ovary, the divisions .spreading ; ovary G-angled 

 and not surpassing the tube of the perianth. Swamps, S. 111., S. 



■*■****->■ Floicers in shades of blue or purple (rarely white), sometimes 

 spotted and streaked. 



= Leaves flat and broad, sword-shaped. 



I. laevigata, Fisch. & Mey. (I. K^mpferi). Japanese Iris. Tall spe- 

 cies (•l°-.-\° liigh), with very large flowers, which are often or commonly 

 borne singly, and which, in some garden varieties, measure 8'-10' across, 

 and are broad and flat ; outer lobes of the perianth mostly purple with 

 a yellow blotch at the base and often streaked, very large and rounded ; 

 inner divisions commonly bright ptirple ; leaves thin and pale green ; 

 stem glaucous. Cultivated (from Japan) in many forms and colors, 

 lihizonie short and stout. 



I. trip^tala, Walt. In pine barren swamps, N. Car., S.; with rather 

 short sword-.shaped glaucous leaves, and few blue flowers (2'-3' long), 

 variegated with yellow and purple, the inner divisions very short and 

 wedge-shaped, the tube shorter than the 3-angled ovary. 



I. versicolor, Linn. Larger Blue Flac;. Stout; stem angled on 

 one side ; leaves sword-shaped, f ' wide ; flowers light blue, variegated 

 with some yellow, white, and purple, hardly 3' long, the inflated tube 

 shorter than the obtusely 3-angled ovary, pod oblong, 3-angled, the seeds 

 more or less 2-rowed in each cell. Common in swamps. 



I. Carolinidna, Watson. In N. Car.; like the last, but the leaves long 

 and lax, and greener, and the larger seeds in a single row in each cell. 



= = Leaves linear, sometimes stiffish. 



I. prismdtica, Pursh. (I. ViRofxiCA). Slender Bue Flag. Slender, 

 with very narrow leaves, and blue flowers with some white (barely 2' 

 long), on slender peduncles, with hardly any tube beyond the 3-an'gled 

 ovary. Me. to N. Car. 



gray's F. F. & G. BOT. — 27 



