I R 
pie colour of the flowers inclining to blue, and by its 
hexangul.ar germs. Native of Germany and Auftria, in 
wet meadows. It flowers in July. 
36. Iris Sibirica, or Siberian iris: beardlefs; leaves li¬ 
near ; fcape round, fub-triflorous ; germs three-cornered. 
Scape a foot high or more, dividing at top, three-flowered 
or many-flowered, longer than the leaves; which are 
nerved and flat. Flowers blue, in brown fcariofe fpathes. 
It is diitinguiflied from the other forts ufually cultivated 
in our gardens by the fuperior height of its fteras, and 
the narrownefs of its leaves ; by the latter circumftance, 
however, it is often confounded with the graminea. Na¬ 
tive of Siberia, Auftria, and Swifferland. Cultivated by 
Gerarde in 1596. It flowers in May and June. 
37. Iris flexuofa, or waved-leaved iris: beardlefs; leaves 
linear, flexuofe; ftem three-flowered, round, thick ; germs 
three-cornered. This approaches very near to the pre¬ 
ceding fpecies. 
38. Iris Martinicenfis, or Martinico iris: beardlefs; 
leaves linear; petals with little glandular pits at the bale; 
germs three-cornered. Stem upright, roundifh, two feet 
high, Ample. Flowers few, coming out fucceflively from 
the fame fpathe, yellow, without fcent. Native of Marti¬ 
nico, in moift mountainous woody paftures; flowering in 
November and December. It was raifed from feed at Vi¬ 
enna about the year 1760, but had not flowered there in 
three years after. Native alfo of the ifland of St. Lucia, 
whence it was introduced into the royal garden at Kew 
in 1782 by Mr. Alexander Anderfon. It flowers in June. 
39. Iris pavonia, or peacock iris: beardlefs; leaf linear, 
fmooth ; fcape one or two flowered. Scape round, joint¬ 
ed, villofe, Ample, a foot high, fuftaining one or two flow¬ 
ers, which are orange-coloured, with black fpots and dots 
at the bafe, and a heart-ftiaped blue fpot above the bafe, 
which at bottom is tomentofe and black. Native of the 
Cape of Good Hope, in Swartland, and elfewhere among 
bufties. 
40. Iris crifpa, or curl-leaved iris: beardlefs; leaves li¬ 
near, curled. Scape grooved, flexuofe, divided at top, a 
hand or more in height. Native of the Cape of Good 
Hope, on the hills near Cape Town. 
41. Iris papilionacea: beardlefs; leaves linear, reflex, 
rough-haired. Bulb ovate, coated, the fize of a pea. 
Scape upright, hairy, divided, many-flowered, a hand in 
height; differs from I.ciliata in having whole leaves rough¬ 
haired, and the alternate borders of the petals ovate. 
Common on the hills about Cape Town. 
42. Iris edulis, or edible iris: beardlefs; leaf linear, 
pendulous, fmooth ; fcape fmooth, many-flowered. Scape 
deeply radicate, round, flexuofe, divided at top, a foot 
high. Common at the Cape, in the fands of Groanek- 
loof, Swartland, the low plains near Cape Town, Duyvelf- 
berg, See. 
43. Iris triftis, or drooping iris: beardlefs; leaves li¬ 
near, fmooth; rough-haired, branched. Scape divided, 
almoft upright, many-flowered, a fpan in height. Native 
of the Cape, below Duyvelfberg, near Cape Town. 
44. Iris polyftachya, or branching iris: beardlefs; leaves 
linear, flat; fcape fmooth, branched. Scape round, di¬ 
vided at top, jointed, many-flowered, a foot and more in 
height. Flowers large, handfome, blue with yellow at the 
flexures. Spathes fcariofe at top, jagged. It differs from 
I. ramofa by its branched fcape and Ample peduncles. Na¬ 
tive of the Cape, between Sondag-rivier and Vifch-rivier. 
45. Iris vifearia, or vilcous iris: beardlefs; leaves li¬ 
near, flat ; fcape vifeid. Scape round, fmooth, jointed, 
from flexuofe upright, divided at top, glutinofe, purplifh, 
a foot high. Native of the Cape, in Saldanha-bay. 
46. Iris bituminofa, or bituminous iris: beardlefs; 
leaves linear, fpiral ; fcape vifeid. Scape jointed, from 
flexoufe tipright, divided at top, glutinofe, many-flowered, 
a foot and more in height. Native of the Cape, near 
Berg-rivier, &c. 
47. Iris tuberofa, or fnake’s-head iris: beardlefs; Ifeaves 
quadrangular. This has a tuberous root, as the name im- 
Vol. XI. No. 761. 
I -S. 377 
plies. There arife from it five or Ax long, narrow, four- 
cornered leaves ; and from between thefe the ftalk, l’up- 
porting one fmall flower, of a dark purple colour. It 
flowers in April, but does not produce feeds in England. 
Native of the Levant. Cultivated in 1597, as appears 
from Gerarde. 
New Species. 48. Iris Japonica, or Japan iris: bearded; 
leaves enflform, falcated, fhorter fmooth : fcape compreffed, 
many-flowered. Scape jointed, ftriated, fmooth, upright, 
a foot high. Native of Japan. Thimberg originally took 
it for the Jqualens of Linnaeus. 
49. Iris orientalis, or eaftern iris: beardlefs; leaves li¬ 
near; fcape fub-biflorous, round, jointed; germs three- 
cornered ; corollas netted. Scape ftriated, fmooth, up¬ 
right, a foot high or more. Native of Japan, where it was 
found by Thutiberg, and fuppofed by him at fir ft to be 
the fame with the (ibirica of Linnaeus. 
50. Iris enfata, or fword-fhaped iris: beardlefs; leaves 
linear; fcape fub-biflorous, round ; germs hexagonal. In 
the Flora Japonica, Thunberg took this to be the graminea 
pf Linnaeus; but the fcape is round or columnar, not 
two-edged or ancipital; and the germs are hexagonal. 
Native of Japan. 
Propagation and Culture. Mod of the fpecies are culti¬ 
vated in flower-gardens for their beauty; and would at¬ 
tract more regard, were it not for the facility with which 
they are propagated. All the hardy forts are generally 
propagated by parting their roots, which moft of them 
multiply fait enough. The heft time to remove and part 
the roots is in autumn, that they may get good root be¬ 
fore the fpring, otherwife they will not flower ftrong the 
following flummer. All thofe forts which fpread much at 
their roots fhould be tranfplanted every other year, to 
keep them within bounds, otherwife they will lpread fo 
much as to become troublefome, efpecially if they are 
planted near other flowers; indeed, the large-growing kinds 
are moft of them too fpreading for the flower-garden, fo 
are only fit to fill up the fpaces between trees and flirubs 
in large plantations, where they will have a good effect 
during the time of their flowering. The third, fourth, 
fixth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, thirty-fourth, thirty- 
Axth, and fome others, grow in lefs compafs, and fo may 
be admitted into the large borders, or in clumps of flow¬ 
ers in the pleafure-garden, where they will add to the va¬ 
riety. The fourth fort fhould have a warmer fituation, 
being a little tender; but all the other forts will grow in 
almoft any foil or fituation ; thefe may all be propagated 
by feeds, which fhould be fown foon after they are ripe, 
then the plants will come up the following- fpring ; but, 
if the feeds are fown in the fpring, they will lie a year in 
the ground before they vegetate. When the plants come 
up they muft be kept clean from weeds, and the follow¬ 
ing autumn fhould he tranfplanted into beds at ten inches 
or a foot diftance, where they may remain till they flower, 
which will be the fecond hummer after tranfplanting; 
but, as moft of the forts are fo eafily propagated by their 
roots, few people care to wait for feedling plants, unlefs 
of thofe forts which are fcarce. 
The bulbous iris and Perfian iris are propagated by 
oft’sets from the roots. The bulbs of the former need not 
be taken up oftener than every other year, and of the 
latter every third year: this fhould be done f'oon after the 
leaves decay, otherwife they will fend out frefli fibres; 
nor Ihould they be kept above a month out of the ground, 
becaul'e they will fhrink, and flower weakly the following 
year. They may alfo be propagated by feed in the fame 
manner as the hyacinth; and this is the only way to ob¬ 
tain varieties of the xiphium. The Perfian' iris does not 
vary, even from feeds. Thefe flowers thrive beft ir. a light 
fandy loam ; and, if it be taken from a pafture-ground 
with the Avard, laid in a heap to rot, it will be Hill bet¬ 
ter; for thefe bulbs do not delight in a rich dunged foil; 
nor fhould they be too much expol’ed to the fun, but in 
an eaft border they will thrive and flower extremely well. 
In propagating the Perfian iris from feed, the- boxes i». 
5 D v widen 
