601 



ORDER CCXXXII.— IRIACEiE. (IRIDACE^. Lindl. Nat. Syst. 

 p. 332;— Endl. gen. pi. 1, p. 164.) 



THE IRIS TRIBE. 



Herbs, or very seldom undershrubs, by Lindl. (adding Phalocallis, Ge- 

 asine, Nemostylis, Alophia, Trifurcia, and Beatonia) referred to 45 genera. 

 Of these, according to Spreng. syst. B. M. and B. Reg. about 36 species 

 belong to S. America, Mexico, and the W. Indies ; 36 to Europe ; 16 to N. 

 America (referring Texas to Mexico) ; 15 to Tauria, Caucasus, and Iberia; 

 12 to Siberia; 11 to New Holland and Van Diemen's Land; 4 to N. 

 Africa ; 3 to Asia Minor ; 2 to Persia ; 2 to Japan ; 2 to the Mascarenhas 

 Islands ; 1 to Madagascar ; and 1 to China. 300 species have been discover- 

 ed in S. Africa ; {Harvey) and 8 in the Himalayas ; viz. 6 of Iris. ; 1 of 

 Pardanthus ; (also a native of China) and I of Crocus. 



The plants of this order are " more remarkable for their beautiful fugi- 

 tive flowers, than for their utility. The rhizoma of some of them is slight- 

 ly stimulating, as the violet-scented Orris-root, the produce of Iris floren- 

 tina. The substance called Saffron is the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus ; 

 the colouring ingredient is a peculiar principle, to which the name Poly- 

 chroite has been given. It possesses the remarkable properties of being 

 totally destroyed by the action of the solar rays, of colouring in small quan- 

 tity a large body of water, and of forming blue and green tints when treat- 

 ed with sulphuric and nitric acid, or with sulphate of iron. DC." {Lindl.') 

 SisYRiNCHiuM, L. {Spreng. syst. \,p. 127, No. 170 ; — Endl. o. c. p. 165 ; 

 — not R. Br. pr. p. 160, as to the species.) 

 l^micranthum, Cav. {Diss. 6, p. 34.5, t. 191, y. 2 ; — Spreng. syst. \,p. 

 167 ;—B. M. 47, t. 2116.) % Peru. Has been cultivated in the gar- 

 den here for many years without flowering. 

 2. luteum, Fisch. {Spreng. I. c. under S. convolutum, Nocc.) %. Guiana. 

 Introduced in 1841. 

 LiBERTiA, Spreng. {Syst. I, p. 127, No. 174 ; — Endl. gen. pl. 1, p. 165.) 

 l./ormosa, Grab. {B. M. 61, t. 3294 ;— B. Reg. 19, t. 1630.) % Island 

 of Chiloe. Has been introduced into H. C. G. Fl. ? 

 CiPUEA, Aubl. {Endl. gen. pl. \, p. 165.) 



l.paludosa, Aubl. {Guian. 1, p. 38, t. 13. — Marica Cipura, Gmel. syst. 

 not. 118. — M. paludosa, Wtlld. ; Spreng. syst. \,p. 165; — B. M. 18, 

 t. 646 i—Roxb. H. B. p. 5.) %. Moist Meadows. Guiana. Fl. 10 lines 

 pure white. May and June ; fr. 0. 

 2. Northiana, Lindl. (Marica Northiana, Ker. ; — Spreng. I. c. ; — B. M. 

 18. /. 654 ;— /. Grah. Cat. B. pl. p. 214.— Moraea Northiana, Schnee- 

 vogt. ; — B. Repos. t. 255. — Ferraria elegans, Salisb. pr. hort. p. 42.) 

 %. Island of Raza, near the mouth of Rio Janeiro. Fl. 22 lines, pale 

 sulphur, variegated with blue, and spotted with brownish on a yellow 

 ^ound, very fragrant, R. S. ; fr, 0. 



4 H 



