The Oncocyclus Section 
119 
Description. 
Rootstock , stout, short-creeping. 
Leaves , ensiform, 6 — 9 in. long, £ in. broad. 
Stem , about a foot long, bearing two reduced leaves. 
Spathe valves , 5 in. long, green or slightly scarious in upper part, slightly keeled. 
Pedicel, practically none. 
Ovary, cylindrical, i£ in. long, gradually narrowing to the tube with no definite separation. 
Tube, i£ in. much rounded trigonal, green, becoming purple-spotted in the upper half. 
Falls, much reflexed ; the creamy ground is covered with minute crimson dots, sparsely scattered 
near the margin but becoming concentrated into a dark crimson patch or signal. The beard is scanty, 
of large scattered brown hairs, becoming short and velvety just before the signal. 
Standards, orbicular, 3 — 4 in. in diameter, white with very thin reddish-violet veins, and dotted with 
reddish-brown spots on the keel and haft but with no hairs. 
Styles, much arched and keeled, deep crimson red. 
Crests, subquadrate, with serrated edge, finely dotted crimson on cream. 
Stigma, semi-circular, entire. 
Filaments, shorter than the anthers, white. 
Anthers, cream, very large and long. 
Pollen, cream. 
Capsule, ellipsoid, trigonal in section, dehiscing below the apex. 
Seeds, pyriform, with conspicuous white aril. 
Observations. 
This is perhaps the most beautiful of all Irises. It has not so large a flower as that of I. Gatesii 
but the great wavy pale pinkish- violet standards and the closely crimson-dotted falls, which are sharply 
reflexed and clasp the stem, form a delightful colour scheme. Unfortunately it seems to be one of the 
most difficult to cultivate among the difficult members of its class. 
For suggestions as to its culture, see the introduction to the Oncocyclus section. 
t /. Bismarckiana 1 
•Dammann ex Wien. Gartenzeit. 1890, p. 352, fig. 72. 
Baker, Hdk. Irid. p. 18 (1892). 
in Gard. Chron. 1893, I. p. 506. 
*Bot. Mag. t. 7986 (1904). 
•Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ort. 1893, t. 7. 
•Gartenflora, 1893, p. 486, t. 1394 A. 
Synonyms. 
I. Sari nazarensis, Foster in Garden, 1893, p. 133. 
I. Sari var. lurida, “ Bot. Mag. t. 6960 (1887). 
Distribution. Northern Palestine. 
Diagnosis. See the remarks on p. 107. 
Description. 
Rootstock, stout, of the usual Oncocyclus character and often sending out stolon-like growths. 
Leaves, as in /. susiana. 
Stem, stout, 1 2 or more inches high, sheathed in reduced leaves. 
Spathes, 3^ — 4 in. long, not scarious, quite green or slightly flushed with purple. 
Pedicel, very short. 
Ovary, oblong, rounded trigonal with a groove on either face. 
Tube, equal in length to the ovary, rather more than 1 in. long, green with dotted dull red-purple 
stripes. 
Falls. The broad ovate blade is not separated by any constriction from the broad wedge-shaped 
haft, which bears a diffuse beard of black-purple hairs on a pale yellowish ground. Beyond the extremity 
of the beard there is a velvety triangular black signal spot. The rest of the surface is covered with 
small black-purple spots on a creamy-yellow ground. The spots tend to coalesce into veins at the edge. 
Standards. Orbicular, with a short haft. The colouring is composed of delicate bluish veins on a 
creamy-white ground. A few hairs are usually to be found along the inner side of the haft. 
Styles, pale yellow, finely dotted with dark purple. 
Crests, low, recurved with serrate edge. 
Stigma, entire. 
Filaments, short, cream. 
• According to a letter from Messrs Dammann to Baker, dated April 1893 (K), the name was given but not published 
by Dr Regel of St Petersburg. 
