THE GERMANICA SECTION 37 



Another good "germanica," of a totally different shade 

 of colour, came to Foster from Kharput in Asia Minor, and 

 is named accordingly. It is remarkable for its distinctly 

 red-purple colouring the standards being, as usual, lighter 

 in shade than the falls and for the great length of all its 

 segments. If it has a fault, it is that the standards are of 

 such delicate texture that they very easily feel the effects of 

 rough weather, and collapse. It should therefore be grown 

 in a rather sheltered position well back in a border, where 

 its flowers may get some protection from the wind. 



The darkest coloured of all the true germanicas is /. nepal- 

 ensis, whose origin is sufficiently indicated in the name. 

 It is about the same height as the common germanica, 

 perfectly hardy, and of a deep red-black colour, the standards 

 in this case being practically of the same shade as the falls. 



Somewhat similar to this is /. Kochii, of a dark black- 

 purple colour, nearly uniform throughout the whole flower. 



A very beautiful, almost blue relative of /. germanica 

 has been introduced under the name of /. Madonna. It 

 is probably a wild plant, and, coming from a southern 

 latitude, it seems unable to grow with the vigour of the 

 other kinds in our cooler climate. It is somewhat dwarf, 

 and both falls and standards are of a distinctly blue shade of 

 purple. It is still, unfortunately, somewhat rare, but will 

 make a notable addition to any group of German Irises by 

 reason of its unique colouring. Whether the author is 

 justified or not in holding the opinion that the well-known 

 /. albicans is really the albino form of this /. Madonna, the 

 fact remains that the former is the best pure- white bearded 

 Iris that we possess, although it is dwarfer and scarcely 

 perhaps so robust as /. florentina, with somewhat grey- 



