920 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



I. aurea. — A tall handsome 

 Himalayan Iris 3-4 ft. high, with stout 

 stems bearing two sessile clusters of 

 flowers, and having sword like leaves 

 about 2 ft. long. Flowers in June, bright 

 golden-yellow ; falls oblong, crisped at 

 the edges ; standards oblanceolate, shorter 

 than the falls. 



Culture So. as above for ' Beardless 

 Irises,' p. 917. This species grows well in 

 ordinary soil and may be grown in groups 

 in the border or shrubbery. Increased 

 by dividing the rootstooks and by seeds. 



I. bakeriana. — A pretty Armenian 

 Iris with ovoid bulbs and cylindrical, 

 8-ribbed horny-pointed leaves about 1 ft. 

 long. Flowers frorn January to March, 

 very fragrant, having narrow oblanceolate 

 standards of a sky - blue colour, and 

 broader oblong spoon-shaped more or less 

 erect ' falls,' white, blotched with deep 

 blue or violet and edged with deep violet. 

 The flowers vary a good deal in colour, 

 and there is now a rare and beautiful 

 white form. 



Culture rfc. as above for ' Bulbous 

 Irises,' p. 917. This is a pretty plant for 

 growing in pots in cold frames and green- 

 houses, and also in sheltered well-drained 

 nooks in the rockery. 



I. balkana. — A dwarf tufted species 

 about 1 ft. high, native of the Balkan 

 Mountains, with sharp-pointed sword-like 

 leaves of a bluish-green tint. As a rule 2 

 flowers are borne on each scape, and are 

 of dark purple-lilac colour, the fall having 

 a dense white beard tipped with lilac. 



Culture dc. as above for the ' Bearded 

 Irises,' p. 917. 



I. Barnums. — An Oncocyolus Iris, 

 native of the hUls of Kurdistan, with 

 slender rootstock and stems only a few 

 inches high. It comes near I. iherica 

 but has narrower and less sickle-shaped 

 leaves and smaUer and less attractive 

 diiU wine-purple flowers, marked with 

 deeper coloured veins and ' a brownish- 

 yellow style blotched and spotted with 

 reddish-purple. Falls smaller and 

 narrower than the roundish standards 

 and having a beard of yellow hairs tipped 

 with purple. There is a charming yellow- 

 flowered variety which emits a delicious 

 fragrance not unlike that of Lily of the 

 VaUey. 



Culture dec. See note above on the 

 ' Oncocyolus Irises,' p. 918. 



I. Bartoni. — A handsome species, 

 native of Afghanistan, with pale green 

 sword-like leaves about 18 in. long, and 

 1|— 2 in. broad, strongly ribbed. Flowers 

 in June, 2-3 in a cluster, strongly scented, 

 having creamy - white falls veined with 

 greenish-yellow, violet-purple on the claw, 

 and a white and orange beard ; standards 

 creamy-white veined with purple. 



Culture dc. as above for ' Bearded 

 Irises,' p. 917. 



I. benacensis. — A native of the 

 Southern Tyrol 12-15 inches high, with 

 sword - like leaves. The flowers are 

 mostly in threes on the scapes, the upper 

 ones being crowded. The long obovate 

 falls are deep violet with still deeper veins, 

 and end in a whitish claw veined with 

 coppery violet, while the beard is white at 

 the base and yeUow above. The broad 

 oblong standards are violet, as are also 

 the triangular crests of the stigma. 



Culture Ac. as above for the ' Bearded 

 Irises,' p. 917. 



I. biflora (J. fragrams ; I. 

 cauKs ; I. suhbiflord}. — A beautiful S. 

 European Iris 9-18 in. high, with a stout 

 short - creeping rootstock and rather 

 glaucous sword-like leaves. Flowers in 

 April, bright violet-purple ; falls obovate, 



1 in. broad, reflexed about midway, and 

 having a yellow beard. Standards erect. 



Culture dc. as above for ' Bearded 

 Irises,' p. 917. Suitable for the border or 

 rockery in ordinary garden soil. 



I. Biliotti. — A handsome Iris of the 

 germanica group, 2^-3 ft. high, native of 

 Asia Minor. The leaves are of a darker 

 green, stiffer, and more distinctly striped 

 than those of I. gennanica, and are over 

 20 in. long. The flowers are delightfully 

 fragrant and appear rather later than those 

 of I. germanica. The wedge - shaped 

 spathulate falls are about 3J in. long, red- 

 dish-purple with dark, almost black, veins 

 and a white beard tipped wdth yellow. 

 The standards are about 3^ in. long and 



2 in. broad, bluish-purple with fine deli- 

 cate deep blue veins. The obovate styles 

 are white with triangular reddish-purple 

 crests, 



Ciilture dc. as for 'Bearded Irises,' 

 p. 917. This species may be grown under 

 exactly the same conditions as I. ger- 

 manica. It is perfectly hardy. 



I. bismarckiana. — A handsome and 

 attractive Iris, native of Mount Lebanon, 



