220 The Reticulata Section 
Standards , linear lanceolate, with a canaliculate haft, 3 — 4 in. long by £ — f in. wide, with a wavy 
edge, rather darker in hue than the blade of the falls, erect, slightly connivent. 
Styles , of the same colour as the standards, becoming very wide in the upper part. 
Crests, large, almost quadrate, fluted. 
Stigma , bilobed. 
Filaments, cream or colourless, about equal in length to the anthers. 
Anthers , J in. long, pale yellow. 
Pollen, orange. 
Capsule, long, narrow, triangular with a broad groove on each side. 
Seeds, light brown, small, thick D-shaped. 
Observations. 
The flowers of this species are larger than those of any other member of the Xiphion group. 
They are distinguished by the long perianth tube (see Fig. 29) and by the tapering, pointed 
standards. 
There is little doubt that the foliage of this plant varies considerably in size and sturdiness, the 
variation being determined either by the soil or by the climate of the locality in which the plants grow. 
Apparently the plant was first found by Desfontaines and wrongly referred to /. xiphium. Grenier 
and Godron saw that the presence of a perianth tube of some length made it impossible to refer 
Desfontaines’ specimens to that species and it is curious that it should not have occurred either to 
them or to Baker to compare them with I. tingitana. An examination of the Paris specimens showed, 
besides the long tube, the characteristic, pointed, tapering standards and left no doubt in my mind as 
to their identity with I. tingitana. 
It is unfortunate that this Iris, owing to its early flowering date, can seldom be induced to flower 
in most English gardens without special treatment. When grown under the same conditions as /. 
xiphium, it remains flowerless year after year, although the bulbs attain a considerable size and produce 
numerous offsets. In order to induce it to flower, /. tingitana must be given very rich soil and a 
warm position. A thick layer of several inches of old manure should be placed beneath the bulbs, 
which may themselves be surrounded with silver sand. A warm and sheltered situation is necessary 
and some protection from late spring frosts, which have sometimes been known to nip the flowers of 
this species in the bud in the month of April. 
One of the most successful of Sir Michael Foster's hybridisations was the crossing of I. tingitana 
and I. xiphium. The former was probably the seed parent and there is little evidence of the influence 
of I. xiphium in the hybrid except in the fact that it flowers as readily as I. xiphium and is as easy 
to manage. The flowers and foliage are almost identical with those of /. tingitana and the linear tube 
of the latter is also present. 
THE RETICULATA SECTION 
The members of this well-marked section are characterised by the netted coat of the bulbs, by 
the short, one-flowered stem, and by the peculiar character of the leaves. These are either four-ribbed 
(/. reticulata, Plate XLV) or eight-ribbed (/. Bakeriana, Plate XLV). Difficulties arise when we 
endeavour to separate those plants, which have four-ribbed leaves, and to give them specific names, 
for there is no doubt that the Caucasus, Asia Minor, and Syria contain a vast number of local forms. 
On the whole, I am inclined to think that these fall into two main natural classes, which differ in the 
character of the bulb or rather in its mode of increase. When a cluster of ripe bulbs of /. reticulata 
is lifted, it will be found to consist of a relatively small number of bulbs, about half of which are of 
flowering size, and the rest of such a size that a year's, or at most two years’ growth, will bring 
them to flowering strength. On the other hand, bulbs of /. histrio will be found surrounded at the 
base by a large number, often as many as 20 or 30, of minute bulblets not much bigger than grains 
of wheat, which take three or four years to arrive at flowering size. 
The first of these two classes appears to be confined to the Caucasus region, and the latter 
includes the Asia Minor and Syrian forms. Unfortunately, herbarium specimens are of little assistance 
in deciding to which of the two classes a plant belongs, for the reason that these specimens are 
mostly collected when the plant is actually in flower. At that time the substance of the old bulb has 
been mostly absorbed in the effort of flowering, and the bulbs for the next year are hardly discernible 
within the old outer netted coat. 
The number of specific names that are bestowed within the limits of these two classes must 
depend on the view we take of what constitutes a species. The typical blue violet, /. reticulata 
(Plate XLV), is probably the rarest form in its native habitat, where red purple forms, to which the 
name Krelagei is usually applied, are far more common. Moreover, in any batch of seedlings from 
the blue type, red purple forms predominate', and in view of this it is certainly curious that some red 
1 My own experience of several annual batches of seedlings raised from self-fertilised seed of the so-called type has been 
that not one blue-violet flowered example has occurred. The seedlings have all without exception been of a deep red purple 
