76 
THE IRIS. 
Iris odorata. (The sweet-scented Iris.) — 
A hardy herbaceous perennial, growing two 
feet high. It produces blue fragrant flowers 
in June and July. 
Iris Pallasii. (Pallas's Iris.) — A hardy 
herbaceous perennial, growing about a foot 
and a half high. The leaves are long and 
narrow. The flower small, pale blue. A 
variety called chinensis has also pale blue 
flowers. The former is a native of Tartary, the 
latter of China. It flowers in May and June. 
Iris pallida. (The pale or Dalmatian 
Iris.) — A hardy herbaceous perennial, grow- 
ing three feet high, with broad leaves, and 
very large pale greyish blue flowers, which 
have an exceedingly strong scent, resembling 
that of elder flowers. It blossoms from May 
till July. Native of Turkey. Sometimes 
injured by a severe winter. 
Iris persica. (The Persian Iris.) — This 
is a hardy bulbous-rooted species, usually kept 
in quantities in the shops for sale among the 
other bulbs, and one of the most desirable of 
all the kinds to pot for the purpose of bringing 
forward in the forcing-house for the decoration 
Iris persica. 
of the green-house or conservatory. The 
blooms come up before the leaves, and rise 
not more than three or four inches high ; 
they are of a pale, delicate bluish-lilac, with a 
dash of deep orange down each of the three 
outer petals, which have several black dots, 
and a large dark blotch near the point. They 
are so deliciously and powerfully fragrant, 
that a few flowers will perfume a whole apart- 
ment. Its flowering season is from February 
to April, according as it is more or less accele- 
rated or retarded. Native, of Persia. 
Iris plicata. (The plaited-leaved Iris. ) — 
A hardy herbaceous perennial, growing upwards 
of two feet high, and flowering in May and 
June. The flowers are cream-colour and 
purple, and very fragrant. 
Iris prismatica. (The prismatic-leaved, or 
New Jersey Iris.) — A hardy herbaceous peren- 
nial, growing a foot and a half high, with small 
narrow leaves and purplish-blue flowers ; the 
outer petals streaked with dark purple. It 
flowers from May to July. Native of swamps 
in New Jersey, North America. 
Iris Pseud-acorus. (The Yellow Water 
Iris.) — A hardy aquatic plant, common in 
many parts of England, on the margins of 
rivers and streams. It grows three and a half 
or four feet high, with large sword-shaped 
leaves and yellow flowers ; and flowers in 
May and June. A variety imported from 
Carolina, called pallida. Jiava, has pale yellow 
blossoms ; and there is a variety with leaves 
striped with white, called variegaia. This is 
an aquatic plant. 
Iris pumila. (The dwarf Iris.) — A dwarf 
hardy herbaceous perennial, not growing more 
than six inches high. It has short broad 
leaves, and flowers which are large for the whole 
size of the plant. There are several varieties, 
with different coloured flowers, as a reddish 
purple ; a dark purple, called violated, (one of 
the best varieties ;) a yellowish one, called 
lutea ; a white, called alba ; a light blue, 
called ccerulea ; a white and pale blue, called 
alba cmrulea ; and Parkinson mentions varie- 
ties with blush-coloured and straw-coloured 
fl owers. They flower from March to May. Native 
of Hungary, Austria, and the south of France. 
Iris reticulata. (The netted-veined Iris.) — 
A beautiful little dwarf hardy bulbous plant, 
with very narrow leaves, and deep purple 
flowers, variegated with blue and yellow. It is 
from Siberia, and flowers in March and April. 
Iris ruthenica. (The Eussian Iris.) — A 
dwarf hardy herbaceous perennial, growing 
from six to nine inches high, with long narrow 
leaves, and dark blue-lilac flowers, white at the 
base, and streaked with parallel dark blue 
lines. A variety has lighter blue flowers. 
Native of Siberia and other parts of the 
Russian dominions. The flowers, which have 
the scent of violets, are produced in April 
and May. Nearly allied to /. verna. 
Iris sambucina. (The elder-scented Iris.) 
A hardy herbaceous perennial, growing three 
feet high. It has broad leaves and large 
flowers ; the outer petals are purplish, white 
towards the base, and marked all over with 
dark brown veins ; the inner ones are of a 
pale dingy cream colour ; the flowers have an 
odour which much resembles that of the blos- 
soms of the elder tree. Native of the South 
of Europe ; and flowers in May and June. 
Iris scariosa. (The scarious Iris.) — A 
hardy herbaceous perennial, growing about a 
