NAT. ORDER. IRIDE^E. 
46 
This name signifies rainbow, and is so called on account of its 
variety of colors, and is the same which was known and described 
by Pliny, nearly two thousand years ago. It is known in Eng- 
land, and in this country, as one of the varieties of the Flower-de- 
luce. The genus presents, according to the best accounts, about 
seventy species, some of which are found in almost every part of 
the globe. They greatly differ, both in size and appearance, 
some being from three to six feet high, while others are only as 
many inches. They are mostly perennial herbaceous plants, some 
of which have bulbous roots. 
Propagation and Culture. The Iris pumila grows wild in 
many parts of Hungary : it seeks open and hilly situations, and 
flowers in the month of April : it is a hardy plant, and will thrive 
in almost any soil or situation. It is propagated by parting its 
roots in autumn, or by seeds. Gardeners, in former days, not hav- 
ing that profusion of plants to cultivate and ornament their gar- 
dens which we can at present boast, appear to have been more 
zealous to increase generally the varieties of the several species, 
which they were then in possession of: accordingly, we find in the 
Paradisus terrestris of the venerable Parkinson, no less than seven 
varieties of the Flower-de-luce, viz. : the lesser purple dwarf Flow- 
er-de-luce, with white blossoms ; do. one with straw-colored blos- 
soms ; do. one with pale blue blossoms ; do. one with blush-colored 
blossoms ; do. one with yellow variable blossoms ; and the purple 
dwarf Sea Flower-de-luce of the same author, is probably no other 
than a variety. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plant, and nearly all its 
varieties, are more valuable as an ornament to the flower-garden, 
than a medicine. It was used at one time by the ancients, and 
recommended for the cure of chronic diarrhoea, dysentery colic, 
and pains in the bowels : its use, however, at this time, is discarded 
from practice in medicine. This root, with many other of its spe- 
cies, enter largely into the composition of various tooth powders. 
