154 



IRIS JASIONE. 



straight, glaucous ; spathes whitish, 

 tinged with violet. Native of South 



Europe. Borders, in ordinary rich 



soil. Division. 



Iris tuberosa (Snake's Head).rA.-o. 

 interesting but dull-coloured kind, 12 

 or 13 in. high. Flowers, in spring ; 

 small; external divisions brownish- 

 green, streaked with yellow, with a 

 purplish-brown tinge on the upper 

 part, round and entire ; internal divi- 

 sions yellowish, very small, covered 

 with hairs. Leaves, 4 -angled, pointed, 

 longer than the stem, of a pale green ; 

 tubers usually two, white, sending 



out runners. South Europe. Not 



worthy of a place in the garden, but 

 where admired it may be naturalized 

 in light soil. Division. 



Iris variegata (Variegated I.) 

 A handsome richly-toned kind, 1 to 

 2 ft. high, flowers, in summer ; 

 slightly fragrant ; external divisions 

 spathulate - oblong, roundish, and 

 rather indented and wavy above, yel- 

 low, streaked with brown or violet, 

 with a dense bright yellow beard ; 

 internal divisions elliptical - oblong, 

 very obtuse, wavy, of a bright yellow 

 finely veined with violet, folded back 

 underneath ; limb of the stigma bright 

 yellow, not veined. Leaves, straight, 

 turned inwards at the point, glauces- 

 ceut. /. De Bergii, supposed to be a 

 variety of this, is a richly-coloured 

 and very ornamental kind. Austria 



and Hungary. Borders or beds, in 



ordinary garden soil. Division. 



Iris Xiphioides (English I.) I. An- 

 glica. A handsome popular plant, long 

 grown in our gardens, 1 ft. to over 2 ft. 

 high. Flowers,^ June and July ; 2 to 3 

 on each stem, large, sky-blue, veined 

 with a darker shade of same colour, 

 with a broad yellow spot or band in the 

 middle of the external divisions, which 

 are deflected at the base, and abruptly 

 narrowed there into a broad concave 

 claw, and have a roundish, indented, 



emarginate limb; internal divisions 

 rather shorter, wedge-shaped-oboval, 

 wavy. Leaves, long, linear, chan- 

 nelled, glaucous. Bulb, of an elon- 

 gated egg-shape, with brownish coats. 

 Many varieties exist, differing chiefly 

 in shades of colour, from which how- 

 ever the yellow hue is absent in a 

 remarkable degree. Spain and the 



Pyrenees. Borders and groups of 



the finer perennials, thriving best in 

 deep sandy soil. Separation of the 

 bulbs. 



Iris Xiphium (Spanish I.) 

 Another handsome bulbous Iris, 1 ^ to 

 24 ft. high. Flowers, in May and 

 June ; fragrant ; external divisions 

 2 in. long, pale blue veined with 

 violet, with a roundish limb shorter 

 than the claw ; internal divisions 

 usually of a violet-blue, not veined, 

 lanceolate-oblong, acute, wavy, a little 

 longer than the external divisions. 

 Leaves, longer than the stem, linear- 

 lanceolate, narrow, awl-shaped at the 

 end, rather flaccid. Bulb, egg-shaped, 

 yellow or brown, narrowed and often 

 compressed at the base. Spain and 



Portugal. The same treatment and 



positions as for the preceding kind. 

 There are numerous varieties. 



Isopyrum thalietroides (Meadow- 

 rue I.) A graceful plant, with 

 leaves resembling those of a Thalic- 

 trum, the stems attaining a height of 

 from 10 to 14 inches. Flowers, in 

 early summer; white, with a faint 

 green tinge, stalked ; sepals blunt ; 

 petals 5, sometimes 6, obtuse. Leaves, 

 ternate, stalks widening at the base 

 into membranous ears ; leaflets 3-lobed 

 or cut, stalked. Pyrenees and Moun- 

 tainous parts of Greece, Italy, and 



Carniola. Borders, in any soil, and 



as a graceful fern-like edging plant, 

 the flower-stems in this case to be 

 pinched off as they appear. Division. 



Jasione humilis (Small Jasione). A 

 modest and pretty - looking minute 



