176 
The Pogoniris Section 
Diagnosis. 
I. trojana Pogoniris ; caulis altior et robustior quam in I. germanica, ramis pluribus multifloribus ; 
spathae fere omnino herbaceae, purpureo suffusae, angustae, elongatae ; setnina compressa. 
Description. 
Rootstock , as in I. germanica. 
Leaves, as in I. germanica, but longer ; distinctly narrow for so large a plant. 
Stem, 2 ft or more in height, bearing about six or eight or more flowers in a terminal head of 
two flowers, and three lateral shoots with i — 2 flowers. The buds are of a long, pointed oval shape. 
Spat/ie valves flushed with purple, scarious only at the top, not so divergent as in /. Biliotti, 
2$ — 3 in. long, narrow. 
Pedicel, short. 
Ovary, £ in. long, rounded trigonal with six very shallow grooves. 
Tube , about as long as the ovary, green with purple stripes. 
Falls ; under surface, spotted on the haft, as in Biliotti, but with the spots more conspicuous along 
the median line than at the edges. 
Upper surface, obovate cuneate, of a bright red purple, the haft bearing numerous thin chestnut 
veins on a whitish ground. The beard is in front white tipped with yellow but becomes wholly yellow at 
the base. 
Standards , the obovate pale blue blade narrows somewhat sharply to the short canaliculate haft, 
which is faintly veined with brown purple. 
Styles, short and broad of a pale purplish colour with more deeply coloured keel. 
Crests, pointed triangular, with serrated outer edge, purple with blue veins. 
Stigma, entire, rounded. 
Filaments, white. 
Anthers, very long, cream. 
Pollen, cream. 
Capsule of a long ellipsoid shape with inconspicuous grooves on each side, very bluntly trigonal. 
Seeds, wedge-shaped, light brownish, much resembling those of /. pallida. 
Observations. 
By an oversight due apparently to the fact that the original description of the species contained 
no express mention of the beard I. trojana was placed by Baker (Hdk. p. 18) among the Apogons. 
Struck by the description as being obviously that of a Pogoniris, I applied to the Vienna Botanic Garden 
and was most kindly supplied by the Director with a number of plants. When these arrived, it was 
at once obvious that I. trojana was a Pogoniris. The flowers proved to agree exactly with the original 
description. 
This fine sweet-scented Iris is fairly common in gardens under the mistaken name of /. cypriana , 
which is a much rarer plant. I. trojana is easily distinguished by the long, narrow, purple-flushed buds 
and by the broader foliage. Cultivation is easy. 
+ + /. MESOPOTAMIA 
DISTRIBUTION. Probably unknown. The plant has been imported on several occasions with /. Gatesii from the 
neighbourhood of Mardin. 
Synonym. 
I. Ricardi, Hort. 
Diagnosis. 
I. mesopotamica Pogoniris ; planta robusta, caulis erectus, 3 — 4 pedalis, ramosus, multiflorus ; folia 
glaucescentia, 2-poll, lata ; spathae membranaceae, superiore parte scariosae. 
Description. 
Rootstock, a stout rhizome. 
Leaves, ensiform, of a somewhat deep green, slightly glaucous, very broad; 18 — 24 in. by 2 iq. 
Stem, 3 — 4 ft. high, very sturdy, bearing a terminal head of 3 flowers and 2 — 3 lateral heads each 
of 2 flowers, the lowest branch being the longest. The stem is erect. 
Spat lies , 2 — 2^ in. long, green, thin and somewhat membranous, only scarious in the upper half, 
somewhat acuminate. 
Pedicel, extremely short. 
Ovary, rounded trigonal with concave sides and a slight depression running down each angle. 
Tube, £ — £ in. broad. 
Falls. The obovate blade passes without any constriction into the broad haft, which is marked 
with thick purple-bronze veins on an almost white ground. This colouration ends abruptly about the 
level of the end of the beard. Beyond this the blade is of a light blue-purple overlaid with a redder 
shade in the central portion. The beard is almost white in front but becomes almost orange on the haft. 
