IRISES 



85 



upright, and three which droop more or less; these are well named, 

 respectively, the standards and the falls. Inside of the standards are 

 noticed three petal-like parts; these are actually lobes of the pistil, 

 the female parts of the flower; it is a most peculiar formation, especially 

 when we know that the little fringed pocket at the apex of each is 

 really the stigma or part which receives the pollen. . The two-forked 

 tip of the pistil is called the crest. Just beneath the pistil is a stamen, 

 the male part of the flower. If we look at a German Iris we will find 



The wonderful Japanese Iris (I. laevigata or I. Kaempferi), colonized. 



While enjoying a moist, open situation this Iris does well in a variety 



of soils and positions 



a very heavy beard on the base of the fall, while the Japanese and 

 Siberian Irises do not have this tuft of hairs. In some Irises the 

 standards are very small, often smaller than the crests of the pistil. 

 Many times the standards, though large, do not stand upright at all. 

 There is a notion that Irises are all water loving; this is not true. 

 Two Irises only can be. planted in the water; these are the common Blue 

 Flag (Iris versicolor), our little wild Iris, and the yellow* European 



