The Apogon Section 
45 
Observations. 
I have only seen one herbarium sheet of this species containing five flowering stems and a tuft 
of leaves. It was impossible to say with certainty that the flowers were yellow, but this is probably 
their colour. 
The species is easily distinguished by its extremely narrow segments. Its long tube brings it 
near to I. Purdyi and I. macrosiphon , but its stem is not concealed in bracts as is that of I. Purdyi 
(see Plate XI) and from I. macrosiphon it is separated by the longer stem, broader spathes and 
shorter tube. 
IV. The Syrian Group. 
This group consists of four Irises, which may be looked upon either as forms of one species 
or possibly as distinct species. The characteristic features are the extremely long and narrow i -flowered 
spathe, the almost equally long pedicel and the rigid, sharp bristles that surround the rhizomes. If 
we accept the view that colour in an Iris flower is no good specific difference, we must group all 
the four plants under the one name of /. Grant Duffii. 
1 1 . Grant Duffii 
Baker, Handbook Irid. p. 7 (1892). 
•Bot. Mag. t. 7604 (1898). 
•Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ort. 1893, t. 7. 
Subspecies (?). 
I. Asc/ursoni, • Foster in The Garden, 1902, I. p. 288. 
I. melanosticta, Bornmiiller in Gartenflora, 1907, p. 495. 
I. tnasia, Foster in The Garden (as I. Massiae) l.c. 
Dykes in Gard. Chron. 1910, I. pp. 99, 147. 
Distribution. Palestine and the South-Eastern districts of Asia Minor (see also the descriptions of the 
supposed subspecies in the Observations). 
River Kishon, 1863-4, Lowne (K) (E). 
Akka (Acre) and Batteef, 1887, Lee (Foster's MS.). 
Esdraelon, 1888, Grant Duff (HortD from Foster). 
Diagnosis. 
I. Grant Duffii imberbis ; rhizoma anulatum, spinosum ; folia linearia, sesquipedalia, caulem uniflorum 
ter superantia ; pedicellus longissimus, cauli et spatharum valvis linearibus viridibus subaequalis ; segtnenta 
exteriora leviter panduriformia. 
Description. 
Rootstock , hard, fibrous, somewhat annulate, the rings marking each season’s growth, covered with 
fine bristles so sharp and rigid as to pierce the skin when the roots are handled. These bristles 
are the remains of withered leaves. 
Leaves, linear, moderately firm, about a foot and a half in length, £ in. broad. 
Stem, 1 -headed, 6 in. long, bearing about 2 lanceolate sheathing leaves. 
Spathe valves, 1 -flowered, 4 — 7 in. long, narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, rigid, green. 
Pedicel , 3 — 5 in. long. 
Ovary, cylindrical or much rounded trigonal, becoming narrower above. 
Tube, short, usually under £ in. long. 
Falls. The slightly panduriform haft is veined with lilac or purple on a yellowish white ground 
and separated by a slight constriction from the obovate yellow blade, which is marked with an orange 
signal patch, 2^ in. long by £ — £ in. wide at the broadest point of the blade. 
Standards , oblanceolate unguiculate, yellow with lilac or purple dots and veins on the haft, 
2 in. long by £ in. wide. 
Styles, i£ in. long, becoming much broader in the upper part than at the base. 
Crests, large, narrowly triangular, £ — £ in. long, with coarsely serrate edge. 
Stigma, bilobed. 
Filaments, very short. 
Anthers, large, three times as long as the filaments, f in. long. 
Pollen, pale yellow or buff. 
Capsule, 4 in. long, trigonal with rounded angles and concave sides. The pale buff-coloured 
surface is finely ribbed and closely mottled with brown spots. 
Seeds, globose, brown, wrinkled, with a somewhat tapering neck. 
Observations. 
This curious Iris is a very shy flowerer in England. In its native home it flowers in April 
in rich marshy soil, which is subsequently baked hard by the sun during the summer. Soon after 
the flowering season the leaves wither completely away and only reappear when the autumn rains 
have begun. In 1905 there were still growing in Foster’s garden at Shelford some of the original 
