207 
The Juno Section 
Spat he valves , closely clasping tube, not scarious, nearly colourless, veined with green 
Pedicel , very short. 
Ovary , cylindrical. 
Tube, 3 — 6 in. long, usually of a dark purple colour. 
Falls, a lengthened oblong, practically strap-shaped, the haft being in some cases broader than the 
blade, though usually of the same width. The yellow or orange crest is very conspicuous on the blade, 
gradually becoming lower on the haft. 2 — 2^ in. long, £ in. broad. 
Standards , about an inch long, with short canaliculate haft and broad blade, reproducing the 
predominant colour of the falls, either horizontal or drooping. 
Styles, broad, about an inch long. 
Crests, large, in some cases as long as the styles. 
Stigma, prominent, entire, oblong. 
Filaments, about as long as the anthers or less. 
Anthers , yellow. 
Pollen, white or yellow, spherical, with 3 — 5 hexagonal bosses in the diameter; usually a few 
grains occur with a diameter twice as great as that of the rest. 
Capsule, a long oval, walls membranous, 2 in. long. 
Seeds, numerous (as many as 89 perfect seeds having been found in one capsule), of a bright 
chestnut brown, with a conspicuous white aril, running down one side of the seed. Plate XLVIII, Fig. 14. 
Observations. 
This Iris is certainly one of the most gaudy, if not the most beautiful, of the early flowering 
species, and we can only regret that it is imperfectly known. Further knowledge may make it 
advisable to found several closely allied species, but meanwhile it seems best to describe it in general 
terms, and note the fact that it is very variable both in colour and in the details of its shape. 
It is characteristic of all the forms that the haft of the fall is without lateral wings or flanges. 
Moreover, the upper surface of the haft is convex rather than concave. The flowers usually appear 
when the leaves are but slightly developed, but there is a form in cultivation, of which more must 
be said later, in which the leaves are much more developed before the flowers appear. 
The species seeds readily and abundantly, and the grains are of a characteristic shape, quite 
distinct from that of the other Junos except I. drepanophylla, and indeed from that of any other known 
Iris. They are more or less spherical or globose, with a very conspicuous white aril. The pollen, 
however, is of the characteristic Juno type, spherical, with numerous netted bosses. It may be either 
yellow or white. 
In the specimens first introduced purple, yellow, and white are the dominant colours in the flowers. 
The haft is usually of a pale purple colour, with four parallel deeper veins. On the blade the purple 
colouration becomes intense and velvety, set off by the orange crest, and then fades away to a lighter 
shade or even to white at the extreme tip. 
More recently two other varieties have been introduced. One agrees roughly in colouring with 
the original, but the parallel lines on the blade are much less noticeable, and usually broken up into 
dots and dashes. The standards are broadly ovate rather than lanceolate, the crests much smaller and 
the leaves are much more developed before the flowers appear. 
This latter character is also found in a still more variable type, which was obtained by a collector, 
working for Miss Willmott and Mr C. G. Van Tubergen, of Haarlem, from a locality in Turkestan, 
which rejoices in the name of Tabidara Bolo, but which I have so far failed to find on any map'. 
The flowers of this batch of plants are smaller, and usually do not appear until April ; the style crests 
are comparatively small. The colour of the falls is either primrose with brown veins, faint purple on 
pale primrose, or deep red-purple with an orange crest. The standards and styles reproduce the 
predominant colour of the falls, in varying shades. It is probably to the yellow flowered form of this 
variety that the name /. baldschuanica was given by Mme Fedtschenko, cf. Journal Russe de 
Botanique, 1909, p. 77. 
It is obviously worth while to raise seedlings of so variable a species, and Foster found that 
bulbs raised from seeds of the original plants gave flowers of endless variety. I am not aware that 
seedlings of the later groups have yet flowered, and my own experience is that the bulbs develop 
slowly. It is a curious fact that the bulbs of this species are also very slow to increase, and it is to 
this that the relatively high price of the bulbs is due. 
It is also noteworthy that the species has so far refused to hybridise with others. Flowers 
fertilised with foreign pollen refuse to set any seed, and my own experience agrees with that of 
Foster and of Van Tubergen. For cultivation see p. 187. 
I. LINIFOLIA 
O. Fedtschenko in Bull. Jard. Imp. Bot Pet. V. p. 159 (1905). 
Synonym. 
/. caucasica var. linifolia. Regel in Act. Hort. Pet. VIII. p. 678 (1883). 
1 This name is possibly synonymous with Tavildara in Darwas in Turkestan. 
