May, 1914.] 
The Iridales of Ohio. 
329 
Iridaceae. Iris Family. 
Perennial geophilous herbs with narrow two ranked leaves. 
Flowers mostly clustered, subtended by bracts, regular or ir¬ 
regular, bisporangiate epigynous, tetracyclic by reduction, tri- 
merous. Ovulary triloeular and dehiscent. 
Key. 
1 . Style branches very broad and petal-like, opposite the stamens; 
petals recurved. Iris. 
1. Style branches not petal-like,slender or filiform; sepals widely spread¬ 
ing or erect. 2. 
2. Flowers solitary; leaves with revolute margins. Crocus. 
2. Flowers several on a long scape or leafy stem. 3. 
3. Flowers crimson mottled; leaves sword-shaped. Gemmingia. 
3. Flowers blue or white; leaves grass-like. Sisyrinchium. 
Iris. (Tourn.) L. 
Perennial herbs with horizontal, often woody or sometimes 
tuber-bearing rootstocks and erect stems with sword-shaped leaves. 
Flowers large, borne singly or panicled; sepals dilated or reflexed, 
style branches petal-like, arching over the stamens. Ovulary 
triloeular. 
Key. 
1. Stems tall; leaves glaucous; none of the perianth segments crested. 
I. versicolor. 
1. Stems low; leaves not glaucous; outer perianth segments crested; 
perianth tube very slender. I. cristata. 
1. Iris versicolor L. Large Blue-flag. Stems straight, 2 to 
3 feet tall, often branched, leafy. Leaves erect, somewhat glau¬ 
cous, 17 to 30 inches long, Jj to 1 inch wide. Flowers several, 
violet blue, varigated with yellow, green and white; perianth 
segments glabrous and crestless. Capsule obscurely three-lobed. 
General. 
2. Iris cristata Ait. Crested Dwarf Iris. Stems 1 to 3 inch 
high, leaves 4 to 12 inches long and | to 1 inch wide. Flowers 
blue, sepals crested; perianth 1 to \}4 inches long. Capsule 
sharply triangular. Lawrence, Adams, Scioto, Pike, Ross, Jack- 
son, Vinton, Hocking, Cuyahoga, Trumbull. 
Gemmingia Fabr. 
Erect perennial herbs with stout rootstocks and Iris-like leaves. 
Flowers in terminal clusters, purple mottled. Capsule figshaped. 
1. Gemmingia chinensis (L.) Ktz. Blackberry-lily. Stem 
1/4 to 4 feet tall, leafy; leaves erect, sword-shaped, 8 to 14 inches 
long and to 1 inch wide. Flowers several, 1 V 2 to 2 inches long, 
perianth segments mottled with crimson and purple on the upper 
side, obtuse at the apex and narrow- at the base, persistent and 
coiled together on the ovulary after flowering. From Asia. 
Escaped in Franklin county. 
