ON IRISES. 



147 



intermediate between Asian and truly European forms. From 

 I. melitta we pass readily to the dwarf Iris of the Balkans, 

 I. balkana, with its relatively large fine red purple flowers, 

 which differs very slightly from the ordinary European 

 I. Ghamaeiris or I. italica. North-west of the Balkans, in 

 Hungary, we find the bright yellow little I. arenaria, which is 

 in all essential features at least identical with I. flavissima of 

 Central Asia, and thus with the also bright yellow coloured 

 /. Bloudovii, which latter is an outlying member of the Begelia 

 group. I said a little while back that an I. pumila identical 

 with the European forms grows in the Caucasus, but the more 

 common form of J. pumila in that region is I. pumila aequiloba, 

 with its small elegant and deeply- veined flowers of purple, 

 yellow, or white ; and this variety of pumila, as do also other 

 varieties of the same species scattered over Asia Minor, tends 

 in its characters towards the Central Asian type. All these 

 particular forms may, in fact, be regarded either as Central 

 Asian forms trying to accommodate themselves to European 

 conditions, or as European forms doing their best to thrive in 

 the to them strange climate of Asia. Some of these forms, 

 for instance I. arenaria, need exactly the same treatment as 

 the Asian forms ; and while others will live and even thrive 

 without special treatment, they all by their more abundant 

 flowering and more luxuriant growth show that they appreciate 

 a dry winter and a hot summer whenever they chance to meet 

 with such rare events in this country. 



Turning our steps eastwards from Central Asia, we find that 

 the Central Asian Irises straggle in this direction, also towards 

 China and Japan, and in their wanderings show their affinity 

 with a very remarkable group of Irises, whose central home is 

 in those far countries of the East. Of this group, which has 

 received the name of Evansia, the best known member is, 

 perhaps, I. fimbriata, which, though not thoroughly hardy in 

 most parts of this country, rewards the trouble of culture in a 

 cool greenhouse by its abundantly produced delicately marked 

 lavender flowers. More characteristic of the group, perhaps, is 

 the large-flowered handsome I. tectorum, so called from the 

 habit of the Chinese to cultivate it on their house-tops. The 

 centre of this group lies, as I have said, in China and Japan, 

 but it stretches both east and west. Like many other Japanese 



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