The Pardanthopsis Section 
96 
Diagnosis. 
/. verna Apogon ; sed habitus Pogoniridis ; folia ensiformia ; caulis obsoletus ; tubus ovarium multoties 
superans. Segmenta omnia subaequalia. 
Description. 
Rootstock , a slender rhizome, not unlike that of /. pumila. 
Leaves, ensiform, of a glaucous green, tinged with pink at the base ; about 4 — 6 in. long at flowering 
time and afterwards increasing. 
Stem, very short. 
Spat/ies, green, acuminate, divergent, exposing the tube, 1^ — 2 in. long. 
Pedicel, none. 
Ovary, trigonal. 
Tube, rounded, trigonal, in. long. 
Falls. Obovate-cuneate, in. by ^ in. The haft bears a broad pubescent band of orange, dotted 
with brown near the base and edged with white slightly veined with brown-lilac. The orange band 
extends on to the blade, which is of a uniform blue lilac. 
Standards. The obovate blade narrows gradually into the long linear haft. Both blade and haft 
are of the same uniform blue-lilac colour as the blade of the falls. 
Styles, keeled, of a paler lilac colour, not separating for about £ in. above the base of the segments. 
Crests, large, triangular. 
Stigma, entire. 
Filaments, colourless or pale mauve, longer than the anthers. 
Anthers , pale blue. 
Pollen, cream. 
Capsule, about £ in. long, trigonal with a groove on each face, blunt at the base and tapering to 
a point above. 
Seeds, pyriform, light yellowish brown with a distinct white raphe. 
Observations. 
/. verna seems to stand entirely apart from all other Irises. It is sometimes confused in dealing 
with herbarium material with /. cristata. It differs, however, in its foliage and in the shape of the 
segments. Moreover it has erect standards, while those of I. cristata spread almost horizontally. 
For some reason, it is not an easy Iris to cultivate. In my experience it dislikes a very hot dry 
soil and does better where the soil is not allowed to become absolutely dry in summer. In half shade 
in peaty soil, an old plant of /. verna flowered so profusely in 1910 that it formed few new growths 
and seemed to have exhausted its strength. It is probable that we do not yet know the conditions 
under which it thrives. 
It seems impossible to group I. verna with any other species in the genus, for when not in flower 
it would be taken for a Pogoniris and yet it has no trace of a beard but merely a golden pubescence 
of unicellular hairs. It is difficult to see why it was ever classed with /. dichotoma in the Pardanthopsis 
section. 
THE PARDANTHOPSIS SECTION 
There is apparently only one known species of Iris that belongs to this section, which was so 
named by reason of the resemblance of /. dichotoma to Pardanthus (. Belamcanda ) Chinensis. See Hance 
in Journ. Bot. xm. (New Ser. iv.), p. 105 (1875). 
+ + /. DICHOTOMA 
•Pallas, Iter. III. p. 712, tab. A, fig. 2 (1773). 
Linn. fil. Suppl. p. 97 (1781). 
Willd. Spec. Plant I. p. 230 (1797). 
Vahl, Enum. vol. II. p. 236 (1806). 
•Ker in Bot. Reg. t. 246 (1817). 
Roem. and Schult., Syst. Veget. I. p. 464 (1817), Suppl. p. 306 (1822). 
Link, Enum. alt. I. p. 58, no. 498 (1821). 
Bunge, Enum. PI. Chin. Bor. p. 63 (1831). 
•Sweet, Brit. FI. Gard. t. 96 (1838). 
Reichenb. leones et Descr. Plant. I. 31 (1822). 
Hance in Joum. Bot. XIII. (New Ser. IV.), p. 105 (1875). 
Baker in J. L. S. XVI. p. 142 (1877). 
Hdk. I rid. p. 17 (1892). 
