Prof. Don's Descriptions of the Indian Species o/" Iris. 31 1 



cata, glauco-viridia, scapo plerumque breviora, unciam et ultra lata, in- 

 iernh angustata. Flores fer^ omnin6 /. germanicce. Spathce subeequales, 

 lanceolatee, acuminat8e,conduplicatae, subfoliaceae, margine scarioso-mem- 

 branacese. Sepala 3 exteriora recurvato-patentia, spathulata, ernarginata, 

 violacea, infern^ albicanti-variegata, barba alba copiosa munita, brevit^r 

 unguiculata, elliptico-oblonga, profundiiis ernarginata, invicem se con- 

 vergentia, undulata, intensiiis colorata, costa prominenti ; omnia praeter 

 ad apicem margine integerrima : tubus infundibuliformis, obscur^ tri- 

 goniis, vix uncialis. Ovarium obtus^ trigonum, f-unciam longiim. Stig- 

 mata (Styli rami) bifida : lobis conniventibus, acutis, hinc levit^r ser- 

 rulatis. 



There can be no doubt that the present species comes very near to Iris ger- 

 manica, and indeed the points which separate them are few, and these not 

 strongly contrasted. That species is, however, distinguished by its shorter 

 scariose and ventricose spathes, entire sepals, longer and slenderer tube, and 

 lastly, by the more coarsely serrated lobes of its stigmas. The rhizoma has 

 the fragrance of that of Iris florentina, and Dr. Royle informs me that it is 

 employed by the natives for similar purposes. 



I suspect that this species will prove to be identical with the Iris japonica, 

 notwithstanding the difference presented by the colour of their flowers, that 

 of Thunberg's plant being described to be white : for I have elsewhere re- 

 marked upon the fallacious character afforded by colour, as a test of specific 

 distinction, not only in this genus, but throughout the greater part of the Mo- 

 nocotyledonous class, as is beautifully illustrated by the numerous cultivated 

 varieties of Iris Xiphium and Xiphioides. A series of careful experiments are 

 still wanting to determine the exact limits of species in this genus. 



The variety /3. differs in nothing except in its shorter two-flowered scape, 

 and there are cultivated specimens of nepalensis from the Calcutta Garden in 

 the Wallichian Herbarium having this depressed character. In my character 

 of the species given in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, I have described 

 the stem as compressed and furrowed; but these appearances presented by the 

 dried specimens prove to be the mere result of desiccation. 



2. /. kamaonensis, barbata ; scapo brevissimo unifloro, tubo perianthii lon- 



VOL. XVIII. 2 T 



