458 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



HARDY IRISES. 

 By W. J. Caparne, F.R.H.S. 



To speak of Hardy Irises is to speak of very nearly all Irises ; for, with the 

 exception of perhaps half a dozen species which have crept outside the 

 limits of the Northern temperate zone in which these plants are placed, 

 all of them are hardy plants, and, as might be expected from this great 

 range of distribution, very great variety of size, shape, colour, and habit 

 exists in the 150 or so species which are found. This makes many of 

 them very desirable and interesting garden plants, as species alone; whilst 

 the work which has been done in improving some of these species has 

 produced some of the most beautiful flowers we have, and offers great 

 encouragement for the development of some of the others by the inter- 

 crossing of species or otherwise. 



If we look for a few moments at the composition and construction of 

 an Iris flower, and glance also at the construction of some near relatives of 

 the Iridece, we shall see with what simple material and by what simple 

 means a wonderful variety of shape has been accomplished, and secondly 

 that our Iris is achieved as an adaptation to both climate and insect, and 

 often to a particular insect. Thus an Irid, as to flower, consists of stem, 

 seed-vessel, and tube, which latter is more or less elongated, and develops 

 into three broad sepals enclosing and protecting the three petals and the 

 essential organs, which consist of three anthers with their respective 

 filaments, three stigmas, and one style with three petaloid style-arms. On 

 opening, the three broad sepals curve outwards, and are termed " falls " ; 

 the three petals remain upright and incurve or lie open, as the case may 

 be, leaving exposed the stigmas for pollination. Now it is in the slight 

 change of shape or size of any one of these sets of floral appendages, the 

 development of one feature to the detriment of another, that we get the 

 apparent variableness of the flower. The great change in shape which 

 fixes an Iris in our mind is caused by turning three alternate petals up, 

 and the three sepals down. This is formalised and preserved to us in the 

 design of the Fleur de lis on our British crown and flag. 



In climatic distribution the Cape abounds in Irids, yet possesses no 

 true [ris. The Cape flowers are mostly fine -weather flowers. Many, as 

 in Txia, Spar axis, Schizostylis, have their petals in an open cup-shaped 

 form, pollen and stigmas perfectly exposed. It is true that they can 

 close for night dews and wet weather, but wet absolutely ruins them. 

 They expect fine weather and intense sunshine, hence see what colours 

 they are able to revel in : the most brilliant scarlet, orange, yellow, 

 and lemon to white ; on the other side of the scale, towards blue 

 (Jiahiana excepted) they stop short at deep red and crimson. There are 

 certain devices for protection, as for instance in Gladiolus, where the 

 flower is bent bodily over ; also Watsonia (though a section of these 

 latter, together with Dierama or Sparaxis pulchcrrima), hang their flowers 

 as bells upon a spike, but the idea of protecting the pollen-grains from 



