Iris.] LXXXII. IRIDEiE. 449 



LXXXIL IRIDEJE. THE IRIS FAMILY. 

 Perennial herbs, with a bulbous, tuberous, or shortly creeping 

 rootstock, and leaves usually either radical or equitant, that is, 

 arranged on opposite sides of the stem, and vertically, not hori- 

 zontally flattened, opening towards the base in a sheath which 

 embraces the stem. Perianth superior, with 6 petal-like seg- 

 ments. Stamens 3. Ovary inferior, 3-celled, with many ovules. 

 Style 1, with 3 stigmas (or stigmatic lobes), sometimes dilated 

 and petal-like or fringed. 



A rather large family, widely spread over the globe, but particu- 

 larly abundant in southern Africa and other dry sunny climates. It 

 differs from the Amaryllis family in the number of stamens, and, in 

 most cases, in the position of the leaves. 



Leaves on the stem, equitant. 

 Perianth with 3 outer large segments, and 3 inner small ones. 



Stigmas large and petal-like, arching over the stamens . 1. Iris. 

 Perianth with 6 nearly similar segments, but oblique, and 



arranged almost in 2 lips ....... 2. Gladiolus. 



Leaves radical, narrow-linear. Perianth-segments nearly equal 

 and regular. 

 Rootstock tufted or fibrous. Flowers 2 or more in a terminal 



cluster or umbel. Stigmas entire 3. Sisyrinchium. 



Rootstock bulbous. Scapes 1-nowered. 

 Perianth-tube very short. Stigmas deeply 3-cleft . . 4. Romulea. 

 Perianth-tube longer than the segments. Stigmas jagged 



or much divided 5. Crocus. 



The IxiaSj Tigridias, and many others of the smaller South African 

 bulbs, formerly much more cultivated than they now are, belong to the 

 Iris family. 



I. IRIS. IKIS. 



Eootstock thick and horizontal, or rarely bulbous. Leaves equi- 

 tant. Flowers large and showy ; the 3 outer perianth-segments large, 

 spreading or reflexed ; the 3 inner ones much smaller, and erect. 

 Stigmas 3, enlarged, each with a petal-like appendage, which arches 

 over the corresponding stamen and the outer segment of the perianth. 



A considerable genus, widely spread over the northern hemisphere. 



Flowers bright yellow. Inner perianth-segments scarcely as 



long as the claw of the outer ones 1. 7. Pseudacorus. 



Flowers violet-blue or yellowish-white. Inner segments two- 

 thirds as long as the outer ones 2. I. fcetidissima. 



Several continental European species are frequent in our flower- 

 gardens, and occasionally escape into neighbouring waste places, 

 especially the large -flowered /. susiana and /. germanica, the dwarf 

 1. pumila, the bulbous-rooted /. Xiphium and I. xiphioides, the /. 

 tuberosa, &c 



1. I. Pseudacorus, Linn. (fig. 1017). Yellow I., Yellow Flag. — Root- 

 stock thick, horizontal, with numerous fibres. Stem about 2 feet high. 

 Lower leaves often much longer, and 1 or 2 inches broad, stiff and erect, 

 of a pale glaucous-green ; the upper ones much shorter. Flowers 2 or 3, 



2 F 



