AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



207 



IRE 



Iresi'ne. From eiroa, wool; referring to the 

 wooly aspect of the branches of some of the 

 species. Nat. Ord. Amaranthacece. 



A genus of erect herbs or sub-shrubs, na- 

 tives of Australia and tropical and sub-tropi- 

 cal America, a single species reaching as far 

 north as Ohio. Those best known in cultiva- 

 tion are very ornamental plants, and are in- 

 dispensable in all bedding-out arrangements 

 on account of their beautifully-colored foliage. 

 The genus is very closely allied to Achyran- 

 thes. 



Iria'rtea. Named in honor of Juan Iriarte, a 

 Spanish botanist. Nat. Ord. Palmacece. 



A small genus of ornamental, tall-growing 

 palms, inhabiting tropical America. Natur- 

 ally, they sometimes produce aerial roots, 

 which raise the trees from the ground as if 

 on stilts. They require the same treatment 

 as other stove-palms. 



Iriarte'lla setigera. A small South American 

 palm formerly included in Iriartea. It 

 rarely grows more than fifteen feet high, and 

 has a perfectly straight cylindrical trunk, 

 scarcely more than an inch thick. The In- 

 dians on the Amazon and Rio Negro, where 

 this palm grows, in the underwood of the 

 forests, use its slender stems for making 

 their blow-pipes, the weapon commonly em- 

 ployed by them in the pursuit of game, and 

 through which they blow small poisoned 

 arrows with unerring accuracy, and to a con- 

 siderable distance. These blow-pipes are 

 usually from eight to twelve feet long, and 

 have a bore of about a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter. 



Irida'ceae (The Iris Family). A natural order of 

 herbs with corms, rhizomes, or fibrous roots, 

 and mostly with equitant leaves, and flowers 

 in sheaths. They are found in warm and 

 temperate regions, and abound at the Cape of 

 Good Hope. There are about fifty genera 

 and upward of five hundred species. Iris, 

 Gladiolus, Crocus, and Ixia are examples. 



I'ris. Fleur-de-Luce, or Flower-de-Luce. Iris, 

 the rainbow deified ; anciently applied to this 

 genus on account of the bright and varied 

 colors of the blossoms. Nat. Ord. Iridaceaz. 



There are two large and distinct sections 

 into which the Iris is usually divided, one 

 with creeping fleshy root-stocks or rhizomes, 

 including such species as I. Germanica, I. Flor- 

 entina, I. flavescens, I. aqualens, etc., and num- 

 berless varieties having large and handsome 

 flowers, and as they are the easiest to cul- 

 tivate, they are most largely grown, the other 

 section includes the bulbous kinds or Xiphions, 

 principally represented in cultivation by 

 what are known as the English and Spanish 

 Iris. Both are of Spanish origin, and vary 

 chiefly in the size of the bulbs and flowers, 

 and in the more curious combination of colors 

 as exhibited in the flowers of the former. 

 They should be taken up and replanted every 

 second or third year, as the new bulbs, which 

 are formed every season, are always directly 

 under the old bulb ; and thus in the course of 

 a few years the bulbs descend so low as to be 

 out of the reach of the air, and consequently 

 incapable of vegetation. Thus it will be 

 generally found that persons in the habit of 

 growing Irises, are always complaining of 



ISM 



losing their plants, while the real fault rests 

 with themselves for not taking up their bulbs 

 at the proper time. The bulbous and tuber- 

 ous-rooted Irises succeed in any light and 

 dry soil. The splendid Chalcedonian Iris is 

 one of the tuberous-rooted kinds ; and it not 

 only requires a dry soil during winter, but to 

 be allowed plenty of pure air during the whole 

 period of its growth, or it will be very apt to 

 damp off. Among the species of late intro- 

 duction is /. Kcempferii (Syn. Icevigata), from 

 Japan. The plants are perfectly hardy, and 

 are very free-flowering. The flowers are 

 double and single, the colors pure white, 

 purple, maroon, blue, and many with the 

 various colors marbled with white. They 

 grow readily in almost any situation, in full 

 exposure to sun, or in partial shade. They 

 are increased by division, or may be grown 

 readily from seed, which if sown in the open 

 border, will make plants that will flower the 

 second year. These are really grand plants. 

 Scarcely any plants in the flower-garden can 

 compare with them for gorgeous beauty, and 

 they command a prominent place in all 

 gardens. That they do not flower until near 

 midsummer, when the season of the common 

 Iris is past, is an additional recommendation 

 to most lovers of plants. 



Irish Heath. Dabmcia polifolia. 



Iron Tree. The common name of Parrotia 

 Persica. 



Iron-weed. The popular name of Vemonia 

 Noveboracensis, a common plant in moist 

 grounds and along fence rows, growing from 

 two to seven feet high, and bearing bright 

 purple flowers. 



Iron-wood. The popular name of two trees 

 that furnish a hard, useful timber, the one 

 Ostrya, which is also known as Hop Horn- 

 beam, and the other Carpinits, the common 

 Hornbeam, or Iron-wood. Both are common 

 in most of the States. 



Iron-wood of Morocco. See Argania siderox- 

 ylon. 



I'satis. A genus of Cruciferce, consisting of 

 erect annual or biennial plants, natives of 

 southern Europe and western Asia, one being 

 found in China. They have undivided leaves, 

 with a bluish bloom, and generally yellow 

 flowers, borne in long, loose, erect, terminal 

 panicles. I. tinctoria, the Dyer's wood, is the 

 only species of importance, being cultivated, 

 especially in the north of China, for the blue 

 dye, similar to indigo, obtained from it. 



Isme'ne. Peruvian Daffodil. After Ismene, the 

 daughter of (Edipus and Jocasta. Nat. Ord. 

 AmaryHidaceoe. 



A small genus of very handsome bulbs from 

 Peru, which require to be kept perfectly dry 

 during winter, and free from frost. Planted 

 out in spring as soon as the ground is warm 

 and dry, they come into flower in June and 

 July. /. calathina, with pure white, very fra- 

 grant flowers, and I. amancces, yellow, are ex- 

 cellent for this purpose. As the flowers last 

 well, they are also valuable for winter forcing, 

 and can be brought into bloom in six weeks 

 from the time of planting, and may be had in 

 succession all winter. The flowers are pro- 

 duced in an umbel on a spathe about two feet 

 high. This genus is included by some botanists 



