LARGE BEARDED IRISES 47 



This is now in commerce as the Shelford variety of 

 /. Kashmiriana. 



There remain to be mentioned some large bearded 

 Irises from Asia Minor and Syria, whose relationship to one 

 another is not yet determined. The names that have been 

 given to them are Biliottii, troyana, cypriana, junonia, 

 and Ricardii. They are all distinguished by their tall 

 stature (especially /. Ricardii), by their habit of flowering 

 late, after the other bearded Irises, and by their large 

 flowers, usually of two shades of lilac and purple. With 

 the exception of the first two, which do well under 

 ordinary conditions, none of them are quite easy to 

 manage, and they seem to want more heat in summer 

 than our climate usually vouchsafes them. Several hybrids 

 have been raised, notably Caterina, Carthusian, and several 

 fine hybrids, which have come from Ricardii when crossed 

 with various " German " Irises. These latter have been 

 raised in France and are not yet in commerce. The flowers 

 are larger than those of any of the ordinary German Irises, 

 and in a warm district in heavy soil they should prove 

 valuable acquisitions to our gardens. The seed parent, 

 Ricardii, is not a very hardy plant, and has the unfortunate 

 habit of growing during the winter only to be injured 

 by late frosts. Later in the season it revives, but there is 

 of course little hope of flowers being produced under these 

 circumstances. 



More is to be hoped, perhaps, from /. junonia. The 

 flowers are scarcely so large as those of /. Ricardii, though 

 they do not fall far short of them. The stem, however, 

 is nearly as sturdy, and the plant has the great advantage 

 that it behaves in winter like /. pallida and dies down 



