The Pogoniris Section 
139 
Synonyms. 
1. flavissima Pall. var. /3 umbrosa , Bunge in Ledeb. FI. Alt. I. p. 59 (1829). 
/. flavissima var. Bloudcwii, Baker, Hdk. Irid. p. 29 (1892). 
Distribution. Southern Siberia, Turkestan and Northern China. 
Siberia. Altai, 18 — , Ledebour (K) (B) (V). 
1876, Waldburg Zeil (B). 
Nerchinsk, 1889-91, Karo (K) (BM) (E) (B). 
Jenisseisk ; Minussinsk, 1900-01, Martjanow (K). 
Turkestan. Chorgos, 1878, Regel (K) (BM) (B) (V). 
R. Dschirgalan, 1879, Regel (V). 
China. Thianshan, 1877, Potanin (K) (B) (V). 
Tarbagatai, 18 — , Schrenk (BM). 
1840, Karelin and Kiriloff (V) (K; (BM) (B). 
Alatau, 18 — , Schrenk (K). 
Songaria, 18 — , Bunge (K). 
Diagnosis. 
I. Bloudowii Pogoniris; /. flavissimae affinis sed planta plerumque robustior ; rhizoma magis com- 
pactum ; spathamm valvae latiores, purpureo suffusae, nervis transversis conspicuis ; folia primo nigro- 
purpurea, denique omnino viridia. 
Description (taken from notes and sketches in Foster’s MSS. of a plant received from Dr Regel and 
from unflowered plants in my garden). 
Rootstock , a somewhat slender compact rhizome, with crowded growths. 
Leaves, when they first shoot, are dark green, tipped with blackish or purple brown, 4 or 5 to a 
tuft, 6 — 8 in. long by £ in. broad, yellowish green, striated at the base only. 
Stem, 4 — 6 in., usually bearing leaves only at the base, 2 — 3 -flowered. 
Spathe valves, ventricose, keeled, pointed, flushed with dark reddish brown, with brown network of 
veins ; the outer valve ends in a sharp curved beak. 
Pedicels, ^ — £ in. long, bright green. 
Ovary, green with six purple stripes. 
Tube, short, brownish. 
Falls. Wedge-shaped with a rounded upper end. The bright yellow blade is held horizontally and 
the haft is veined with purple brown on a yellow ground. The yellow beard of relatively large hairs 
extends far over the blade beyond the short styles. 2 in. by 1 in. 
[N.B. Ledebour’s original description gives the length of the hairs of the beard as at least twice 
as long as those of I. flavissima .] 
Statidards, oblong unguiculate, much smaller than the falls, of an even brighter yellow than the falls. 
Styles, narrow. 
Crests, narrow, oblong or quadrate with dentate edge. 
Stigma, entire, rounded. 
Filaments, short. 
Anthers, large. 
Pollen, 
Capsule, 2 in. long, trigonal, narrowing at either end and dehiscing below the top like those of the 
Regelia section. 
Seeds, pyriform, brown, wrinkled with distinct whitish aril, only differing in size from those of 
I. flavissima. 
Observations. 
In the dried state, as herbarium specimens, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to separate 
satisfactorily /. Bloudowii from I. flavissima (see also p. 137). Ledebour’s statement that in I. Bloudowii 
the pedicels of the two flowers are of equal length, while in /. flavissima that of the second flower is 
distinctly the longer is not borne out by the available specimens. Moreover, it is hardly ever possible 
to ascertain from dried material the exact shape of the segments and with regard to the shape of the 
spathe valves and to the prominence of the veining on them, the examination of a large number of 
specimens shows that there are many intermediate forms connecting the typically narrow and slightly 
veined spathes of /. flavissima with the broader, more navicular and more conspicuously veined valves 
of I. Bloudowii. 
Another difficulty, with which we have to contend, is that it seems to be particularly difficult to 
cultivate I. Bloudowii successfully or at any rate to induce it to flower. The description given is taken 
from the account of a plant that once flowered with Foster, but my own experience has been that it has 
remained flowerless year after year though I have given it different soil and positions. However, the 
growth of the plant is so different from that of /. flavissima that it seems best to keep up the distinction 
between the two species. The leaves are larger and more distinctly striated and are remarkable for 
their deeply coloured tips while they are still quite short in early spring. The deep colour is a mark 
18—2 
