IRIS DEFLEXA. 



(Deflexed Iris.) 



LINNEAN SYSTEM. 



TRIANDR.IA MONOGYNIA 



GENERTC CHARACTER. 



Iris (Linn.) Corolla sexpartita, laciniis alternis reflexis, alternis conniventibus. Stylus 0. 

 Stigmata tria petaliformia. {Roemer et Schultes, Syst. Veget. vol. i. p. 343.) 



Corolla six -parted, divisions alternate, one half reflexed, the others connivent. Style none. 

 Stigmas three, having the appearance of petals. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 

 I. Peflexa ; barbata ; scapo flexuoso, declinato, mnltifloro, foliis longiore ; foliis ensiformibus, 

 apice falcatis, marginatis, glaucis; floribus inferioribus pedunculatis ; spathis viridibus ; ger- 

 minibus trigonis. 



Bearded; flower-stem flexuous, declined, many-flowered, longer than the leaves; leaves 

 sword-shaped, curved at the apex, margined, glaucous ; lower flowers pedunculated ; sheaths 

 green ; germen three-sided. 



Descr. — Rhizoma thick ; leaves of a pleasing glaucous green colour, from a foot to eighteen 

 inches high, and from half an inch to an inch and a half broad, curved in a falcate manner more 

 or less at the apex. Scape issuing from the centre of the leaves, flexuous, and declined, bear- 

 ing from three to five flowers, the upper one of which is sessile, the lower ones longly pedun- 

 culate, having the peduncles curved inwards, which gives the flowers on the scape a secund 

 appearance. The sheaths are of unequal sizes, decreasing in size from the bottom to the top. 

 The three exterior petals are reflexed and tongue-shaped, of a lilac colour, or perhaps more of 

 a violet purple intersected with white streaks, which have a delicate appearance if viewed under 

 the petaloid stigma. The beard is yellow. The three interior petals are alternate with the 

 exterior ones, roundish oval in form, and connivent ; their colour is darker than the exterior 

 ones, and beautifully streaked with brown at the base. The stigma partakes more or less of 

 the colour of the interior petals. The divisions of the stigma are jagged and incurved. The 

 pollen is greenish. Tube of flowers longer than the germen ; germen three-sided. 



This is a very elegant species of Iris, and when in perfection, diffuses a 

 grateful perfume much resembling the sweetness of the rose. It was brought 



from the East in the. year 1833, by Boultbee, Esq., of Springfield, near 



Knowle, through whose kindness it was presented to the Birmingham Botanic 

 Garden. 



NATURAL ORDER. 



IRIDACEJE. 



