187 
The Juno Section 
The description of this Iris agrees with that of 7 . nepalensis except in the following points. 
Leaves , broader, not so glaucous and of a darker green ; the conspicuous ribs number two on one 
side and three on the other. Stems, very short in most cases, but sometimes 2 in. long, several being 
often produced from the same rootstock. 
[N.B. I do not understand Forrest’s note “Pistil orange” on his no. 2205 (E). It may be a mistake 
for the orange yellow crest on the falls.] 
Observations. 
This Iris has been said to differ from I. tiepalensis in its broader leaves of a deeper green and less 
glaucous colour and in the shorter stems. On the whole, I am inclined to doubt whether there are really 
two species. The variations shown in some specimens are so great that there is considerable difficulty 
in determining the point where I. nepalensis stops and I. Collettii begins. 
For instance, the Doi Sootep specimens have in one case leaves 4 in. long by £ in. wide, and in 
another leaves of 16 in. by | in. Again, Duthie's no. 6023 from the Dhauli Valley in Kumaon has 
one specimen with a stem that has two lateral branches, which if the internodes were reduced would 
approximate closely to I. Collettii. Moreover, the stems of Griffith’s 5918 from Bhutan and Pantling*s 
Sikkim specimens from Choonthang vary in length from 3 in. unbranched to 1 2 or 20 inches with several 
lateral branches. 
I have been unable to separate from Collett’s plant that which Foster described in the Gard. Chron. 
1892, ii. p. 458 as I. nepalensis var. Letlia. Evidently Foster was unaware that Collett and Hemsley 
had already published a description of the plant as a weak-growing form of I. nepalensis. 
THE JUNO SECTION 
This section contains those Irises whose rootstock is a bulb and whose bulbs in their resting state 
have attached to them several (usually about 4 or 5) thick fleshy roots. These remain unbranched 
until the autumn, when the rains commence in their native homes, and then send out many lateral 
rootlets, forming the support of the plant during the flowering season. In the drawing of 7 . alata 
(Plate XL) the brown roots represent those that remained attached to the bulb during the previous 
summer, while the newer lateral branchlets are white. There can also be seen at the base of the bulb 
two short thick white growths, which represent the beginnings of the next year’s roots. 
Other features characteristic of the members of the group are the deeply channelled or folded leaves 
and the small spreading processes that correspond to the standards in other Irises. It is convenient to 
keep the term “standards" in the case of these Irises, even though it may be somewhat paradoxical to 
give this name to parts of the flower that either extend horizontally or even actually hang down*. 
The Juno Irises also stand entirely apart from all other groups in the possession of spherical pollen 
grains, covered with a number of finely sculptured bosses or plates that are roughly pentagonal in outline. 
In two cases, I. alata and I. palestina , these bosses, if present at all, are very indistinct, and the pollen 
grains are further differentiated by being thickly covered with minute colourless spines. Hitherto, 
I have been unable to find any pores or to discover in what way the pollen tubes emerge from the 
grains. Immersion in liquid generally causes the bosses to detach themselves from the pollen grain and 
they can then be stained for examination under a high power. They are then seen to consist of an 
irregular network, made up of a concretion of minute spherical grains arranged in lines. 
It is a rough general rule that the larger the plant the smaller is the number of the bosses on the 
pollen grains, but beyond this point this character hardly helps towards the differentiation of species. The 
numbers of the bosses on each grain are as follows: 7 . bucharica 8, I. orchioides 8 — 10, 7 . IVar/eyensis 8, 
7 . sindjarensis 12, I. Willmottiana 12, 7 . persica 16, 7 . pursind ( = 7 . persica purpurea x 7 . sindjarensis) 16, 
7 . Rosenbachiana 20. 
Cultivation. 
As we might expect of plants whose home is in the drier regions of Southern Europe and Asia, 
all the members of the Juno group need a thorough rest in summer, and it is because this absolute 
rest is not easily provided in our moist climate that some of the less sturdy species prove difficult to keep. 
As a general rule all Juno Irises seem to prefer a stiff soil to one of mere sand, though the more 
vigorous species such as 7 . buchariea and 7 . orchioides flourish amazingly in warm well-enriched sand. 
The smaller species especially, such as alata, palestina and persica, seem to be more exacting in their 
demand for a heavy soil, and it is precisely because our summers are not often hot enough or dry 
enough to cut off all moisture from the bulbs in summer, and because it is almost impossible to lift 
them uninjured from stiff soil and so give them an artificial rest, that these small species prove more 
difficult than some others. 
1 The more correct expressions “inner and outer perianth segments'* are too cumbrous for constant use. 
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