310 Prof. Don's Descriptions of the Indian Species of Iris. 



group, which is principally confined to Asia and America, is distinguished by 

 having the spathes frequently leafy, a tube continuous with the ovarium, and 

 often very short ; by their beardless sepals ; and by the petals being smaller 

 and spreading. The species of this group produce their flowers generally later 

 in the season ; a circumstance which, together with their being chiefly inha^ 

 bitants of a drier climate, I'enders the protection of the petals less necessary. 

 Our own Flora affords two examples of this section in Iris fcetidissima and 

 Pseudacorus. The very early period of flowering of the Iris fcetidissima may 

 be supposed to aflbrd a strong objection to the theory as to the use of the con- 

 vergent petals in the first group of the genus ; but the plant is well known to 

 occur only in sheltered situations, where a considerable degree of protection 

 is afforded to the flowers. Of the five Indian species, which I shall now pro- 

 ceed to describe, two belong to the first group, and three to the second. 



Sect. 1. EuiRis. 



Perianthii tubus distinctus, subinfundibuliformis. Sepala recurvata, barbata. 

 Petala maxima, invicem apice incumbenti conniventia. Spathce perscepd 

 scarioso-membranacece. 



1 . /. nepalensis, barbata ; scapo tereti Isevi plurifloro foliis ensiformibus ple- 



rumque longiore, spathis vix foliaceis subsequalibus, sepalis omnibus emar- 



ginatis, ovario obtus^ trigono perianthii tubi infundibuliformis vix longi- 



tudine. 



Iris nepalensis. Wall.Cat.n. 5050. Lindl.in Bot.Reg.t. 8\8. Royle III. t. 90, 



/2. 



I. japonica. Thunb. in Linn. Trans. 2. p. 327 ? 

 I. squalens. Ejusd. Fl. Japon. p. 33 ? 

 (3. scapo indiviso subbifloro foliis breviore. 

 Habitat in Nepalise montibus {Wallich) ; in Emodi montibus Bychuky Ghaut 



inter Pabur et Tonse, et in Surkunda ad Vicum Bhala Gau. Royle. V . 



(v. s. sp. in Herbb. Wall, et Royle.) 



Rhizoma oblongum, teres, crassum, ramosum, repens, odore gratissimo Iridis 

 fiorentince. Scapus erectus, teres, Isevis, subflexuosus, fistulosus, 2 — 5-florus, 

 pedalis v. sesquipedalis. Folia ensiformia, acuminata, nervosa, subfal- 



