334 IRIS FAMILT. 



• » Taller: the several-flowered often branching sterna l°-3° high: tube of the 

 fiamer short: the outer divisions naked, beardless, and all but one creslless; 

 the inner very much smaller: fl. late spring and early summer, in swamps. 



I. Virglnica, Slender Blue Flag. Slender ; with very narrow linear 

 leaves, and blue flowers with some white (barely 2' long), on slender peduncles, 

 with hardly any tube beyond the 3-angled ovary. 



I. versicolor, Lakgek Blce-Flag. Stout ; stem angled on one side; 

 leaves sword-shaped, J' wide ; flowers light blue variegated with some yellow, 

 white, and purple, hardly 3' long, the inflated tube shorter than the obtusely 

 3-angled ovary ; pod oblong, 3-angled. 



1. hex&gona. Only S. near the coast ; with simple stem, narrowish long 

 leaves, and deep blue variegated flowers 4' long, the outer divisions crested, the 

 tube longer than the 6-angled ovary. 



I. otiprea. Only S. and W. ; with copperish-yellow flowers 2' long, the 

 tube about the length of the 6-angled ovary. 



I. trip^tala. Only S. in pine-barren swamps ; with rather short sword- 

 shaped glaucous leaves, and few blue flowers (2' -3' long), variegated with 

 yellow and purple, the inner divisions very short and wedge-shaped, the 

 tube shorter than the 3-anglcd ovary, 



§ 2. Garden species from the Old World, cult, for ornament. 



» A dense heard along the lower part of the 3 outer divisions of the flower: the 

 stamens in all spring from thickened rootstocks. 

 •t- Dwarf: flowering in early spring. 



I. ptimila, DwAKP Garden Iris. Stem very short ; the violet and pur- 

 ple flower close to the ground, with slender tube and obovate divisions, hardly 

 exceeding the short sword-shaped leaves. 



•t- 1- Taller and larger, several-flowered, in early summer. 



I. Oermd,nica, Common Flower-de-£uce of the gardens, with very 

 large scentless flowers, the deep violet pendent outer divisions 3' long, the obo- 

 vate inner ones nearly as large, lighter and bluer. 



I. sambticilia, Elder-scented F., is taller, 3° or 4° high, and longer- 

 leaved; the flowers about half as large as in the preceding, the outer divisions 

 less reflexed, violet, but whitish and yellowish toward the base, painted with 

 deeper-colored lines or veins; upper divisions pale grayish or brownish blue; 

 spathe broadly scarious-margined. 



I. sgud^lens, very like preceding, with longer dull violet outer divisions to 

 the flower whitish and striped at base, and purplish-buff'-colored inner divisions. 



I. varieg&ta, has much smaller flowers, with spatulate-obovate divisions 

 2' long, white with pale yellow, the outer divisions veined with dark-purple and 

 purplish-tinged in the middle, 



I. Florentina, Florence or Sweet F. Less tall than the Common F., 

 with broader leaves, and white faintly sweet-scented flowers, bluish veined, the 

 obovate outer divisions 2J' - 3' long, with yellow beard. Its violet-scented i-oot- 

 stock yields orris-root. 



* • No beard nor crest to the flower : all but the last with rootsloclcs. 



I. Pseudd.COrus, Yellow Iris, of wet marshes in Eui-ope, with very long 

 linear leaves and bright yellow flowers, sparingly cultivated. 



I. gramlnea, Grass-Leaved I., has narrow linear root-leaves 2°-3° 

 long and often surpassing the I - 3-flowered stem ; flower purple-blue, with 

 narrow divisions. 



I. P^rsica, Persian Iris. A choice house-plant, dwarf, nearly stemless 

 from a kind of bulb-like tuber, from which the flower rises on a lone tube, 

 earlier than the leaves, delicately fragrant, bluish, with a deep-purple spot at 

 the tip of the outer divisions, the inner divisions very small and spreading. 



2. PABDANTHUS, BLACKBERRY LILY. jName from the Greek, 

 means pard-flower, alluding to the spotted perianth.) Fl. late summer. 



Farddnthus Chin^nsis, from China, cult, in country gardens and 

 escaping into roadsides: 3° -4° high, more branching than an Iris ; the di- 

 visions of the orange-colored flower (1' long) mottled above with crimson spots, 



