28 
The Apogon Section 
+ ♦/. CHRYSOGRAPHES 
(Plate IV) 
Dykes, in Gard. Chron. XLIX. p. 362 (1911). 
•Bot. Mag. t 8433 (1912). 
DISTRIBUTION. The only known specimens of this Iris are those collected by E. H. Wilson in Western 
Szechuan at a height of 5 — il.oooft., and those found by George Forrest in Yunnan. Henry's Szemen 
(Yunnan) specimens are probably but not certainly identical. 
West of Kuan Hsien, 7 — 11,000 ft. 1908, Wilson, no. 1304 (K). 
West Szechuan, Washan, 5 — 8000 ft. 1908, Wilson, no. 3071 (K). 
Tatsienlu, 11,000 ft. 1908, Wilson, no. 3070 (K). 
Yunnan, 1910, Forrest, no. 6807 (E). 
Yunnan; Szemen, 4 — 5000 ft. 18 — , Henry, nos. 11,927, 11,927 A and B (K). 
W. Yunnan; east flank of Tali Range, 9 — 10,500 ft. 1906, Forrest, no. 1895 (K). 
[N.B. This last is not certainly I. chrysographes but may possibly be a blue-flowered form of /. Wilson i. 
See p. 26.] 
Diagnosis. 
I. chrysographes Apogon ; I. oricntali similis sed segmenta interiora obliqua nec erecta ; spathae 
omnino herbaceae, acutae ; semina piriformia, compressa. Colore etiam atropurpureo distincta. 
Description. 
Rootstock, a slender rhizome of the sibirica type but not producing such dense growths. 
Leaves , linear-ensiform, acuminate, slightly glaucous, 18 in. by £ in. 
Stem, hollow, 15 — 18 in. long, bearing 1 — 2 reduced leaves. 
Spathes, narrow, green, 3 in. or more in length, sometimes set £ in. apart on the stem. 
Pedicels, of varying length, £ — 2 in. 
Ovary, trigonal. 
Tube , short and thick, of the many ribbed sibirica form. 
Falls. The oblong blade narrows abruptly to the oblong haft, which bears at its base the 
projecting flanges, which are a marked characteristic of the sibirica group. The haft bears a few 
broken golden veins on a deep violet ground. The broken veins extend some distance on to the 
blade, of which the rest is an intense violet-purple, of velvety texture. 
Standards, oblanceolate, narrow, divergent as in I. Delavayi, deep violet. 
Styles, much arched, keeled, coming close down on to the falls. 
Crests, small, overlapping, subquadrate. 
Stigma, a triangular tongue. 
Filaments, purple. 
Anthers, violet. 
Pollen , cream. 
Capsule, somewhat similar to that of Bulleyana, but tapering more gradually at either end ; oval, 
trigonal, with a flange at each angle, a raised line down each face and a netted surface, i£ — 2% in. long. 
Seeds, flattened, pyriform, with rather smooth coats, in some cases where the seeds are few in 
number and consequently not much flattened they bear a slight resemblance to those of I. ensata. 
Observations. 
This Iris is perhaps the most striking of all those recently introduced from Western China. 
1 have had under observation about a dozen plants given to me as minute seedlings by Miss Willmott 
and labelled “Wilson 1304.” When these plants flowered in 1911, it was at once obvious that they 
were identical with a specimen in the Kew Herbarium bearing the same number, which Mr Wilson had 
asked me to determine. 
The foliage is somewhat scanty for a member of the sibirica group and resembles most closely 
that of I. Clarkei. The flowers are slightly raised above the leaves. The colour in all cases is a rich 
velvety red purple, but the amount of golden veining is variable, in some instances most striking 
(see Plate IV), and in others less conspicuous. Both the capsules and the seeds are quite characteristic 
and sufficient of themselves to mark /. chrysographes as a distinct species. 
Cultivation is apparently easy in conditions favourable to the other members of the group (see 
p. 19). 
