64 
The Apogon Section 
/ 3 . t I. Monnieri 
•DC. in Red. Lil. t. 236 (1808), non Sieber, nec Boissicr nec Haldcsy. 
•TratL Auswahl, no. 90 (1821). 
Klatt in Linnaea, xxxiv. p. 619 (1866). 
Baker in Gard. Chron. 1876, II. p. 584- 
Hdk. I rid. p. 15 (1892). 
Asch. and Graeb. Syn. Mit FI. III. p. 49 2 09 ° 6 )* 
Synonyms. 
Xiphion Monnieri , Alef. in BZ. 1863, p. 297. 
Xyridion Monnieri , Klatt in BZ. 1872, p. 5 °°- 
Distribution. Unknown. 
Description. 
Rootstock, a hard, compact rhizome. 
Leaves, ensiform, 3 ft. long by 1 — 1^ in. wide. 
Stem, 3 — 4 ft. long, bearing several reduced leaves, a terminal head of 2 — 3 flowers and one or 
more lateral clusters of flowers. 
Spat he, 2 — 3 flowered ; valves 4 — 6 in. long, 1 in. broad, firm, green, lanceolate ; the bud in the 
spathes has a flattened appearance. 
Pedicel, 1 — 1^ in. long, trigonal in section, becoming 4 in. long eventually. 
Ovary, 1 in. long, 6-ribbed, with 3 deep and 3 shallow grooves, and a long neck. 
Tube, broad, under £ in. long. 
Falls, with orbicular, i£ in. broad, emarginate blade rather longer than the haft, which is i£ in. 
long; concolor, bright yellow. 
Standards, oblong cuneate, 3 in. long, 1 in. broad, with a deep indentation at the apex ; concolor, 
bright yellow. 
Styles, over in. long, increasing in width towards the upper end. 
Crests, small, deltoid. 
Stigma, bilobed, with pointed, tongue-like tips. 
Filaments, yellow, almost transparent. 
Anthers, pale yellow, longer than the filaments. 
Pollen. The grains are yellow, almost transparent, of a rounded oval shape. The extine is divided 
along one side by a narrow fissure. 
Capsule , 2 in. long, rostrate, with 3 longitudinal ridges, each of which is double. 
Seeds, irregular, with a loose papery shiny skin, which is either of a white, pink or brown colour. 
Observations. 
This Iris was so named because it was found growing in the garden of a M. Lemonnier at Versailles 
(cf. Red. Lil. t. 236). It was there known as “Iris de Rhodes" but was admittedly of uncertain origin. 
The frequently repeated statement (Ascherson and Graebner, l.c., Boissier, FI. Or. v. 130, Halacsy, 
Consp. FI. Graec. in. 188, 1904) that this plant is a native of Crete rests on Sieber’s erroneous identi- 
fication of some specimens of /. Pseudacorus L. collected by him in 1821 at Niochorio on Suda Bay, 
Crete. These specimens are widely distributed and are found in the principal Herbaria (K) (V) (BM). 
Moreover Heldreich also collected I. pseudacorus on the hills above Suda Bay. 
The Iris which is now in cultivation under this name is apparently that represented by Redout^. 
It is probably not a good species but a sport or variety of some form of I. spuria. This is proved by 
the evidence of seedlings raised from self-fertilised seeds. Among these /. Monnieri is probably the 
variety which least commonly appears, the majority approaching I. ochroleuca (cf. Foster in The Garden, 
1890. p. 463)- 
The supposition that /. Monnieri is only a form of I. spuria is supported by the fact that it is 
readily fertile to the pollen of the latter. The plants thus raised by Foster are known as I. Monspur 
and are merely fine forms of I. spuria with flowers of some shade of blue-purple (see The Garden, 
1890, p. 462, pi. 779). They are not unlike the Kashmir form of /. spuria illustrated in Plate XV. 
/. Monnieri is distinguished from /. ochroleuca by being wholly of a lemon-yellow colour and from 
I. aurea (see Plate XVI) by the colour and by the fact that the blade of the fall is orbicular instead of 
oblong and has not the frilled edges of I. aurea. 
Within recent years Siehe of Mersina claims to have found I. Monnieri growing wild in moist 
spots on the plain of Cilicia near Mersina and Misis, but the specimens (E) that I have seen have 
differently shaped segments and are of a much deeper golden colour. 
The cultivation of /. Monnieri is the same as that of the other members of the spuria group. 
(See p. 58.) 
