30 
The Apogon Section 
In its native habitat, /. Clarkei grows in ground that is swampy for half the year and frozen 
hard under snow during most of the remaining months. In cultivation it should naturally do best 
in damp soil, rich in humus, but for some reason or other it has proved difficult to keep, for many 
plants have died out after flowering. Seedlings are fairly easily raised though the seeds do not 
germinate very readily and the plants are of somewhat slow growth. 
No natural hybrids of this species are known but I have succeeded in fertilising it with pollen 
both of /. sibiriea and of I. Delavayi and also with the Californian I. Douglasiana. The first two 
crosses were interesting as showing that the hollow stem is dominant over the solid stem in both 
cases while the last produced plants which represented a compromise between the two parents. The 
colour varied with that of the variety of I. Douglasiana , whose pollen was used. In one case this 
was a kind of buff pink and the resultant hybrid has flowers of a pleasing pink shade. Another 
curious feature is found in the leaves, which are not indeed green throughout the winter as are 
those of I. Douglasiana but they remain green long after those of I. Clarkei have withered and 
do not die down until quite the end of the year. They also possess the glossy upper surface, 
which is characteristic of I. Clarkei. 
It is also of interest to note that all the three crosses produced plants, which do not need such 
moist conditions as /. Clarkei. The hybrids with /. Douglasiana in particular have flourished 
exceedingly even in dry Surrey sand in the summer of 1911 and in this respect partake far more 
of the character of their Californian father than of that of their Himalayan mother. 
1 1. Bulleyana 
(Plate VI) 
Dykes in Gard. Chron. June 25th, 1910, p. 418. 
Distribution. Unknown, but the plant is probably confined to Western China. 
Diagnosis. 
I. Bulleyana Apogon ; /. Clarkei similis sed caulis fistulosus, monocephalus ; segmenta omnia patula. 
Description. 
Rootstock , a closely tufted rhizome, of the sibirica type. 
Leaves , somewhat resembling those of I. Clarkei but narrower, slightly tinged with pink at the 
base, with a glossy upper surface and glaucous below, linear-ensiform, 18 in. by £ in. 
Stem, hollow with thick walls, 15 — 18 in. long, unbranched, bearing a single head of 1 — 2 flowers, 
two or three reduced leaves at some distance below the top. 
Spathes, narrow, acuminate, keeled, 3 — 4 in., scarious at the tip. 
Pedicels, of varying length, f — 2^ in. in second flower, at least 1 in. at the fruiting stage. 
Ovary, £ — f in. trigonal, with a distinct ridge down the centre of either face. 
Tube, £ in., with the bases of the falls broadening and meeting over the bases of the standards, 
the dark colour of which just shows between them lower down. 
Falls , with an oblong haft and obovate blade. The haft is veined and dotted with purple on 
a greenish-yellow ground. On the blade the colouring becoming clearer and consists of broken veins 
and blotches of bright blue-purple on a creamy ground. The extremity is of a uniform blue-purple 
growing paler at the edges. 
Standards , oblanceolate, canaliculate, pale blue-purple with deeper veins, divergent at an angle of 
about 6o\ 
Styles, narrow at the base becoming slightly wider above, keeled, dark violet-blue, held high above 
the falls. 
Crests, small, rounded quadrate, overlapping, edges entire, not serrate. 
Stigma, a rounded tongue. 
Filaments, purple, longer than the anthers. 
Anthers , cream, faintly tinged with purple. 
Pollen , cream. 
Capsule , if — if in. long, tapering somewhat abruptly and equally at either end, oblong trigonal 
with a distinct flange at the angles and a raised line on each face. The surface is covered with 
a network of raised lines. The whole capsule is very similar to that of I. Clarkei. 
Seeds, small thick discs or D-shaped, both smaller and thicker than those of /. Clarkei. 
Observations. 
The origin of this fine Iris is at present something of a mystery. I owe my specimens to the 
kindness of Mr A. K. Bulley, from whom I understood that they were from the same source as 
I. Forrest ii. However, on my showing Mr Forrest an autochrom photograph of the Iris, he told 
me that he did not remember collecting the plant or even seeing it in the wild state. 
/. Bulleyana is perhaps best described as an /. Clarkei with a hollow, unbranched stem. In 
some ways it is very close to /. Forrestii but its seeds and capsule and also the poise of the 
segments of the flower are quite different. 
In cultivation it apparently requires the same conditions as /. Forrestii. 
