The Pogoniris Section 175 
somewhat resembles that of I. pallida and dies away almost entirely in the autumn. It has done well 
with me in a fairly sheltered position in clay soil lightened and enriched with leaf mould. It comes 
into flower at the end of May and is distinguished by the tall stem with its many branching heads 
and strikingly short foliage. 
t/. Biliotti • 
Foster in Gard. Chron. 1887, I. p. 738. 
Baker, Hdk. Irid. p. 37 (1892). 
Distribution. North-eastern Asia Minor. 
Siwas ; Kalahissar, 1884, Biliotti (Foster MS.). 
S. W. Phrygia; Ortakeni (Tchal district), 1888, Ramsay (Foster MS.). 
Baktash on west side of Gumular Dagh at 4200 feet, 1891, Mrs Ramsay (Foster MS.). 
N.B. Foster records (MS.) a note from Mrs Ramsay sent with these Baktash plants 
to the effect that this Iris is only found in Turkish Cemeteries. 
Diagnosis. 
I. Biliotti Pogoniris ; /. germanicae affinis et similis sed spathae longiores, angustiores, apice tantum 
scariosae. 
Description. 
Rootstock , a fleshy rhizome much resembling that of I. gennanica but possibly somewhat narrower. 
Leaves , somewhat darker green, more distinctly striated and more rigid than in I. gennanica ; about 
20 in. when full grown by if — if in. at the broadest point, which is above the middle; largely per- 
sistent through the winter like those of I. gennanica. 
Stem, 2f — 3 ft. far overtopping the leaves, bearing about 4 flowers, arranged as in I. germanica. 
Spat he valves nearly 3 in. by £ in., narrow, acuminate, not keeled, persistent, scarious at the apex 
only even when the flower is fully expanded, not flushed with purple. 
Pedicel, f in. 
Ovary, 1 in. by § in., bright green, rounded trigonal, bearing 6 grooves. 
Tube, | in. bright green, with dull purple mottled stripes in the line of the standards. 
Falls, 3^ in. by if in. rounded cuneate ; the groundwork of the haft is white with thick, bold 
dark purple-brown veins ; the blade is of a fine reddish-purple, with numerous dark, almost black, veins 
with a lighter border at the edge ; beard white tipped with yellow. The under surface of the haft is 
bright green with brown dots which are very faint along the median line. 
Standards, 3| in. by 2 in., erect, connivent ; blade obovate, emarginate with a canaliculate haft, 
which is of a whitish colour marked on both surfaces with brown dots and broken veins ; the blade is 
of a fine blue purple, marked with very fine delicate blue veins. 
Styles, almost oblong, if in. long by fin. wide, with faint purple sides and deeper coloured keel. 
Crests, triangular, pointed, reflexed, divergent, reddish-purple made somewhat iridescent by the blue veins 
Stigma, entire. 
Filaments, white, mottled with purple near the base. 
Anthers , shorter than the filaments, cream. 
Pollen, white. 
Capsule, 2f in. by if in., ellipsoidal, with six deep grooves. 
Seeds, light brown, wrinkled, of an elongated oval shape. 
Observations. 
This Iris is closely allied to I. gennanica, with which it agrees in its inflorescence (see Fig. 21, 
P 1 Apart from the colour and shape of the flower, which in /. germanica vary within very wide limits, 
the chief points of difference between I. Biliotti and /. germanica are to be found in the foliage (see 
description), in the spathes and in the ovary. In /. gennanica the spathes are largely scarious at 
flowering time ; they are usually flushed with purple and clasp the tube closely ; in I. Biliotti they are 
green (scarious, if at all, only at the very tip) and widely divergent, so as to expose the ovary, which 
is much more deeply grooved than that of I. germanica. 
A peculiarity of this Iris is the curiously iridescent colour of the stigmatic crests. 
For cultivation see p. 156. 
t M. TROJAN A 
(Plate XXXVII) 
Kerner ex Stapf in Verh. Zool.-Bot. Gesell. Wien, 1887, p. 649. 
DISTRIBUTION. Unknown. The original plants, on which the description was based, were induced 1 into 
the Vienna Botanic Garden by Sintenis, presumably from the Troad. By the kindness of 
I have been able to cultivate for several years specimens of this original importation. 
' Named after Alfred Biliotti, formerly British Consul at Trebizond, who sent rhizomes to Foster in .884 (Foster MS.). 
