144 
The Pogoniris Section 
larger than the other and always, in my experience, decidedly more floriferous, even when the two 
are grown side by side under apparently identical conditions (HortD). 
(4) A form with very narrow segments, possibly that described as aequiloba, of a dull reddish 
purple colour (HortD). 
(5) A pale primrose yellow with a faint bluish blotch on the falls. See Plate XXXII. This 
was collected with (1) near Vienna (HortD). 
(6) A beautiful blue purple form with a grey blue beard from Moravia. The shade of colour is 
almost that of /. Madonna, Plate XXXV (HortD). 
(7) A bright red purple form similar in colour to /. Kochii (Plate XXXVI). This also was sent 
to me from Moravia (HortD). 
Diagnosis. 
I. pumila Pogoniris; caulis obsoletus; spathac plerumque uniflorae, valvis membranaceis, informibus; 
tubus elongatus. 
Description. 
Rootstock, a slender rhizome with crowded growths. 
Leaves, linear, slightly glaucous, 3 — 4 in. long by £ — 2 * n - broad at flowering time, and growing 
afterwards to twice that size ; the foliage dies away in autumn, the new leaves not appearing until the 
spring. 
Stem, barely f inch, 1 -headed. 
Spat he valves , 1 — 2 -flowered, narrow, green, scarious at the tip only, 2 in. long. The inner valve 
is membranous and closely wraps the tube, the outer valve is slightly more rigid and may be very 
slightly keeled. 
Pedicel, none. 
Ovary, rounded trigonal, about f in. long. 
Tube, 2 in. long, with three purple stripes in the line of the standards. 
Falls. Nearly 2 in. long, of a rounded oblong cuneate shape, ^ in. wide, the blade being of a 
dark red purple and the haft veined with parallel purple veins alongside the beard 
and with brownish purple branching veins at either side on a lighter ground. The 
beard is bluish in front, then white and finally yellowish. (Various colour-forms 
are also common, yellow, white and blue, as described above.) 
Standards, 2 in. long, wider than the falls, emarginate, oblong unguiculate, 
the blade of red purple with inconspicuous darker veins narrowing suddenly to 
the haft, which is veined with brown purple. 
Styles, 1 in. long, almost colourless at the edges with a blue-purple keel, 
somewhat oval in shape. 
Crests, red purple, deltoid with serrated outer edge. 
Stigma, entire, of a rounded tongue shape. 
Filaments, nearly colourless or slightly tinged with blue. 
Anthers, bluish or cream, about equal in length to the filament. 
Pollen, blue in the purple forms, in the others cream. 
Capsule, trigonal, pointed, in. long, sessile or very nearly so, opening 
below the apex to which the withered tube remains attached. 
Seeds, small, spherical, wrinkled, light brown, without any strophiole. 
Fig. 16. Inflorescence of 
I. pumila, showing the 
long tube, short stem and 
a second abortive flower. 
Observations. 
This was the sixth Iris on Linnaeus’ first list but the fact that in what 
remains of his herbarium I. pumila is only represented by a specimen of /. 
chamaciris leads us to doubt whether in practice he distinguished the two plants (see also p. 141). 
I. pumila is undoubtedly a variable plant, but it is probable that all the variations except those of colour 
would tend to disappear, if the plants were cultivated under similar conditions. Moreover, in any large 
collection of specimens, anomalies will be found to show the futility of giving varietal names. For instance, 
most specimens from the Volga district have comparatively long and narrow leaves and yellow flowers 
(see Trans. Russ. Hort. Soc. l.c.), but among Becker’s specimens (B) there are exceptions to this rule 
and examples with purple flowers. Similarly, although on the whole the foliage of Greek plants tends 
to be more falcate than that of the Austrian type, this feature is not invariably found. In this con- 
nection, it may be mentioned that the falcate character of foliage tends to disappear in cultivation in 
richer soil than that in which the plants are found growing wild. 
Unless, therefore, we give a name to every small variation, which in practice would become 
intolerable owing to the multiplicity of names, it seems better merely to define the species as varying 
within certain limits and as distinguished by certain characteristics, of which the most obvious are : — 
(i) The almost complete absence of stem. (ii) The narrow, membranous spathe, closely 
wrapping the lower part of the tube, (iii) The absence in winter of foliage of any length. 
