104 
The Evansia Section 
Seeds are produced in abundance and germinate very readily. Unless, indeed, it is possible to 
winter the seedlings in a dry, airy structure, it is a mistake to sow the seed either in pots or in the 
open before October. Earlier sowings result in crops of seedlings in October and November, which 
are lifted entirely out of the ground by frost in winter and are thus liable to perish. 
ft I. G RA CILIPES 
A. Gray in Mem. Am. Acad. N. S. VI. p. 412 (1859). 
Baker in J. L. S. XVI. p. 143 (1877). 
Hdk. Irid. p. 22 (1892). 
French, et Savat. Enum. PI. Jap. II, p. 41 (1879). 
•Bot Mag. t. 7926 (1903). 
Gard. Chron. XXXVI. p. 1 (1904). 
XLIV. p. 125 (1908). 
•Phonzo Zoufou XXIII. p. 12. 
Synonym. 
I. sibirica , "Somoku Zusetsu, II. p. 10 non L. 
[N.B. The plant represented is clearly /. gracilipcs but it is named I. sibirica L. as well as Himeshaga , 
which Dr Takeda tells me is the Japanese name of I. gracilipes .] 
DISTRIBUTION. Japan, on wooded slopes with a cool aspect, in loose rich vegetable soil, in much the same 
conditions as those in which primroses thrive in England. 
Japan, 1853-6, Wright (K). 
Prov. Nambu, 1865, Tschonoski (K) (BM) (V) (B). 
Kintoki, 1876, Bisset (K). 
Shinano (Togakuski), 1894, Watanabe (K). 
Daisen, 1899, Faurie (B). 
Diagnosis. 
I. gracilipes Evansia ; rhizoma gracillimum ; folia anguste ensiformia ; caulis ramosus ; spathae 
monophyllae, uniflorae ; tubus ovario trigono triplo longior. 
Description. 
Rootstock, a slender, branching, comparatively wide-creeping rhizome. 
Leaves, about a foot long eventually, $ in. broad, ensiform, slightly ribbed, green. 
Stem, about 8 — 10 in., slender, branching about twice with a leafy bract at the bifurcations. 
Spathes, with one valve only, lanceolate, membranous, scarious, reaching above the top of the tube. 
Pedicel, none or very short. 
Ovary, trigonal with thin walls. 
Tube, about J in., funnel shaped. 
Falls, obovate, cuneate, slightly more than an inch long by £ in. broad, deeply and widely emarginate, 
and bearing a wavy linear crest, which is yellowish white along the haft, becoming orange at the tip 
on the blade. At the base of the haft the ground colour is creamy white marked with brownish veins 
which become lilac towards the edge ; the blade is of a pink lilac marked with deeper veins at the 
edge of a central patch of white veined with deep lilac. 
Standards, oblanceolate, emarginate, with a short canaliculate haft, of a uniform pink lilac, under 
an inch long by £ in. wide, spreading at the same angle as the falls. 
Styles, | in., of the same pink lilac colour. 
Crests, long, nearly | in., much fimbriated. 
Stigma, a triangular tongue. 
Filaments, equal in length to the anthers. 
Anthers, white. 
Pollen , white. 
Capsule, very short, under | in. long, with bulging sides, almost trefoil in section. 
Seeds, small, dark reddish-brown, pyriform, with conspicuous cream-coloured rhaphe. 
Observations. 
This is one of the most dainty of all Irises and does well in a cool, moist and yet not water- 
logged soil. It is not always easy to establish and should only be moved during the summer months 
while growth is still active. Division of the rhizomes is then possible. It may also be raised from 
seed, which sets fairly readily although in no great abundance, even if the flowers are carefully 
pollinated. 
In structure, this Iris is peculiar in its single-valved spathes. 
