226 
The Reticulata Section 
Observations. 
This Iris is perhaps hardly worthy of specific rank, and should probably be considered as a 
subspecies of /. histrio. 
It is the earliest to flower of all the Reticulata Irises, and for this reason, perhaps, is the most 
difficult to cultivate. When the flowers appear, as they often do, before Christmas, the foliage has 
already attained some length and suffers sadly in severe weather. The consequence is that sound 
bulbs do not develop for the following year ; on the other hand, this early flowering habit makes it 
a desirable addition to our gardens, and it is all the more welcome for its strong almond fragrance. 
A white and very floriferous form of this Iris has recently been introduced from Palestine. If 
grown in a pot in a cold frame, flowers are easily obtained even before Christmas. One specimen 
has appeared among those that I have grown with the blade of the fall dotted with bright blue, giving 
the flower an appearance not unlike that of the albopurfmrea variety of I. laevigata (see Plate XVIII). 
+/. Danfordiae 
Boiss. FI. Orient v. (1884), p. 124. 
[The plant was first described by Baker as Xiphion Danfordiae in Journ. of Botany, v. 1876, 
p. 265, from imperfect specimens, sent to Kew by Mrs Danford, who gathered them in 1876 
on the north side of Mt Anascha, a continuation of the Ala Dagh in the Cilician Taurus (K).] 
•Bot. Mag. t 7140 (1890). 
•Gartenflora, xxxix. 1890, t. 1327. 
•The Garden, 1890, p. 462, t 753. 
•Gard. Chron. XXVII. 1900, p. 170. 
•Journ. Hort. Soc. XXVIII. t 123 (1904). 
Synonyms. 
/. Bommtilleri, Haussknecht in Flora, 1889, p. 140. 
Gard. Chron. 1890, I. p. 293, t. 49 b. 
Oest. Bot. Zeitsch. XLIV. 1894, p. 326. 
I. amasiana , Bommiiller in Flora, 1889, p. 140, in synonymy. 
I. crociformis, Freyn in Oest Bot. Zeitsch. XLIV. 1894, p. 326. 
Distribution. Eastern Asia Minor. 
Cilician Taurus, 1876, Mrs Danford (K). 
Amasia, 1889, Bommiiller, no. 2 (K) (BM) (B). 
Sipikor Dagh, 1889, Sintenis, no. 1 17. (The plate in the Bot. Mag. was prepared from plants grown 
from bulbs obtained from this source through Max Leichtlin (K) (B).) 
Cilicia, 1896, Siehe, no. 681 (K) (BM) (B). 
Diagnosis. 
/. Danfordiae Xiphion ; /. histrioni affinis sed segmenta interiora minutissima, setosa ; Jlores lutei. 
Description. 
Rootstock , a slender, ovate bulb, with whitish netted coats. 
Leaves , about 2 to each bulb, very short at flowering time, eventually 9 — 12 in. long, 4-sided, 
bluish green, with a white, horny point 
Stem, very short, 1 -headed. 
Spal/te valves, 1 -flowered, pointed, clasping the tube, not inflated, pale green, by reason of the 
green veining on a nearly colourless ground. 
Pedicel, ^ in. at flowering time, eventually becoming 1 — 2 in. long. 
Ovary, £ in. long, cylindrical. 
Tube, 1^ — 3 in. long, yellow, with 6 shallow grooves. 
Falls. The narrow haft expands somewhat suddenly into the ovate-lanceolate blade. The haft is 
veined and dotted with olive green, and similar markings usually occur on the blade round the end of 
the conspicuous orange median ridge ; this ridge is continued along the haft, where it bears scattered 
spots of green and a number of microscopic hair-like processes, each with as many as 6 — 9 swollen nodes. 
Standards, minute, erect, yellow spines, less than £ in. long, often lying close along the falls or 
styles, and difficult to distinguish. 
Styles, short, not much more than half an inch long, triangular, usually, but not always, blotched 
with green or olive brown. 
Crests, comparatively large, quadrate, with a serrated outer edge. 
Stigma, bilobed. 
Filaments, nearly equal in length to the anthers, whitish. 
Anthers, cream coloured. 
Pollen, pale cream coloured, of the characteristic reticulata shape, the two segments being equal in 
size, and of a much rounded oval outline. 
Capsule, $ — 1^ in. long, broad below and tapering to a point above, rounded trigonal, with thin 
papery walls that bulge outwards (cf. Fig. 30). 
Seeds, of the reticulata type, comparatively large, equalling those of /. reticulata. 
Fragrance, not noticeable. 
