214 
The Xiphium Section 
Vias, 1892, Maudon (B). 
Herault (Portirayne), 18 — , (V). 
Valine du Lys (Haute Garonne), 1849, (E). 
North Africa. Oran, , Munby (K). 
Oran, 1877, collected for Maw (K). 
Tangier, 1878, Ehves (K). 
Algeria, 1910, Mermier (HortD). 
[N.B. The following specimens are identified as I. lusitanica, which probably means that they had yellow as 
opposed to purple flowers (cf. p, 213). It is however impossible to decide from a dried specimen 
after the lapse of several years whether the flower was yellow, for sometimes the purple entirely 
disappears and leaves only a dull yellow in the dried state. White flowers give much the same result 
Moreover the wide distribution of these yellow-flowered specimens is probably to be explained by the 
fact that this form, though less common, is liable to occur wherever the type is found. A parallel 
is found in such species as I. pumila (see p. 144) and I. chamaciris (see p. 140), to quote only two 
instances among many. Moreover, it is not unlikely that the same phenomenon occurs in the case 
of this species as certainly occurs in the case of the two above-mentioned Pogoniris, namely that in 
some localities only one colour form is found, whereas in others many forms occur in close proximity.] 
Portugal. Cintra, 1846, Trevelyan (K). 
1851, Welwitsch (K). 
1876, Hackel (V). 
1887, Moller (B). 
1911, Tait (HortD). 
Collares, 1879, Ball (K). 
Lisbon; Monsanto, 1880, (K). 
1876, Winkler (B). 
Alcantara, 1880, Daveau (K) (C). 
18—, Hb. Link (B). 
Estremadura, 1848, Welwitsch (O) (C) (V). 
Spain. Torrelodones (Madrid), 1864, Madua (K). 
Blanco (Jaen), 1849, (B). 
France. Vias between Agde and Beziers, 1857, Fabre (K). 
Diagnosis. 
I. xiphium Xiphion ; bulbus tunicis membranaceis tenuibus involutus ; perigonii tubus brevissimus. 
Description. 
Rootstock , an ovate bulb covered with thin membranous tunics not splitting into fibres at the 
apex and producing bulblets in pairs on opposite sides at the base 
(see Plate XLIII). 
Leaves , 12 — 24 in. long, glaucous, channelled. 
Stem, 12 — 18 in. high, usually with only one head of flowers 
but occasionally a very strong bulb will produce a side branch, very 
similar to those of I. spuria. 
Spathe valves, up to 4 or 5 in. long, narrow, green, 1 — 2-flowered. 
Pedicel, varying in length, often equal to, or a little longer 
than, the spathes, that of the second flower being the shorter. 
Ovary, 1 — in. long, oblong, narrow, usually exserted from the 
spathes. 
Tube, practically none. 
Falls. The suborbicular blade is separated by a gradual and 
slight constriction from the oblong-oval haft. The colour is very 
variable but there is always a yellow or orange streak or patch on 
the blade. The oblique veining on the sides of the haft is usually 
conspicuous. 
Standards, oblanceolate-unguiculate, usually of a slightly different 
shade of colour to that of the falls. 
Styles, broader than the haft of the falls. 
Crests, subquadrate, large. 
Stigma, bifid, with two rounded teeth. 
Filaments, varying in colour. 
Anthers, varying in colour. 
Pollen, yellow or orange. 
Capsule, long and narrow (2 — 3 in.), with a hollow running down 
each face (cf. Fig. 27). 
Seeds, small, yellow-brown, thick D-shaped, compressed. 
Observations. 
There is little doubt that Linnaeus included under the one name 
of I. xiphium both that species and also /. xiphioides. This is clear 
from the fact that he quotes C. Bauhin, Pinax, p. 38 /. bulbosa lalifolia, caule donata, which is almost 
Fig. 27. Spathes and capsule of 
I. xiphium. 
