The Oncocyclus Section 
117 
I. MEDA 
Stapf in Denkschr. Acad. Wien, L. p. 20, Bot. Ergeb. Polak. Exped. Pers. (1885). 
Baker in *Bot. Mag. t 7040 (1889). 
Hdk. I rid. p. 28 (1892). 
Synonyms. 
/. Straussii, Leichtlin ex Micheli in Rev. Hort. 1899, p. 363 ex parte. 
[N.B. Some confusion is involved here because the plants are said to have been found near Sultanabad 
by Strauss and yet the description of them as having two flowers does not agree with Strauss’ 
herbarium specimens. It is rather that of I. mellita Janka (p. 149) and moreover the plants in 
commerce under the name of I. Straussii were really /. mellita (cf. The Garden, 1899, II. p. 149, 
Gard. Chron. 1909, I. p. 391).] 
/. fibrosa, Freyn. Bull. Herb. Boiss. IV. p. 182 (1896). 
[N.B. The type was collected by Strauss near Sultanabad.] 
Distribution. Central Persia in the provinces of Hamadan and Irak-Ajemi. 
Hamadan ; Mt Karaghan (Kabuterchan), 1882, Pichler (V). 
Irak-Ajemi; Sultanabad, 1890, (K). 
1892, Strauss (B). 
Diagnosis. 
/. meda Oncocyclus ; planta magnitudine I. acutilobae sed segmenta magis obtusa, venis diffusis. 
Description. This description is taken partly from the original account, partly from the Botanical Magazine 
(l.c.) and partly from Foster’s MS. notes. 
Rootstock, a short-creeping rhizome, weaker than that of I. putnila. 
Leaves, about 4 to a tuft, linear, glaucescent, 4 — 6 ins. long at flowering time. 
Stem, one-headed, about as long as the leaves. 
Spathe, one-flowered ; valves lanceolate, herbaceous, 2 — 2^ in. long. 
Pedicel, scarcely any. 
Ovary , under 1 in. long, rounded trigonal. 
Tube, green cylindrical, as long as the ovary. 
Falls, oblong-cuneate, reflexing from half-way down, with a dark signal patch and a dense yellow 
beard. The colour of the segments is either lilac purple, or greenish yellow with thick dark purple veins. 
Standards , longer than the falls, oblong-unguiculate, erect ; the colour is either lilac purple slightly 
paler than the falls or greenish yellow with brown veins. 
Styles, broad and convex on the back. 
Crests, small, deltoid crenate. 
Stigma, entire. 
Filaments, 
Anthers, longer than the filament. 
Pollen, 
Capsule, of the Oncocyclus character, 2^ in. long, pointed at either end. 
Seeds, globular, light reddish brown, with conspicuous aril. 
Observations. 
This Iris was classed by Baker among the Pogoniris and said to be allied to I. chamaeiris but 
the specimens quoted and the details which Baker himself gives (Bot. Mag., l.c.) leave no doubt that 
/. meda belongs to the Oncocyclus group. This supposition is confirmed by a note in Foster's MS. that 
the seeds of the plants, from which the Botanical Magazine figure was prepared, were large and globular 
with a conspicuous aril. The figure portrayed the yellow-flowered variety, which is mentioned by Stapf 
in his original description, although his type had purple flowers. 
In 1888 Foster received from the plains between Tel Erman and Armonde to the south of Mardin 
in Mesopotamia an Iris very closely allied to I. meda, if not identical with it (MS.). It grew there 
abundantly in a somewhat light red loam and its rhizome was markedly stoloniferous. It only differed 
from /. meda in having a whitish and not a distinctly yellow beard and slightly broader falls. 
For cultivation see the remarks on the Oncocyclus section, p. 108. 
I. Gates 11 
Foster in Lecture on Irises, May 14th, 1889, ex Joum. Hort. Soc. Lond. XI. (1890), p. 144- 
•Gard. Chron. 1890, II. p. 17 - 
•Micheli in Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ort. Ser. II. Vol. VII. 1892, p. 296, t. 10. 
Baker in Hdk. Irid. p. 18, 1892. 
•The Garden, XLIII. 1893, p. 132. 
•The Garden, July 31st, 1897, showing a number of plants in bloom at Haarlem. 
