The rarest species of its genus in our collections, and 
marked by more than one striking anomaly. Its foliage 
and stem partake considerably of the habit of those in Par- 
pANTHUS chinensis, or China-Ixia, though they differ in 
verdure; the stem is proportionably the slenderest in the 
genus; the flowers the smallest, never expand until after 
mid-day, and collapse before night by a twofold inflexion, 
rolling inwards at the limb or upper portion, and twisting 
spirally together at the ungues or lower. ‘The laminze of 
the inner segments are two-lobed, and the lobes of the 
outer lip of the stigmas villous at the upper surface.. We 
did not perceive pubescence of any kind on the’ ungues of. 
the outer segments, though these are said by Pallas to ex-. 
hibit a few fine scarcely perceptible villi. 
Native of Dauria, where .it is called Cheitschi (Scis- 
sors) in the Mogol dialect, from the form of the fork pro- 
duced by the two branches; the lower of which however is 
not always elongated to the length of the other, and then 
the appellation does not apply.. Stated to have been intro- . 
duced by Mr, John Bell in 1784, but we suspect that the — 
plant from which the drawing was made is the only one now 
jn this country. This had been raised from seed received 
from the Berlin garden, under the name of Iris pomeridiana,. 
by Messrs. Whitley and Co. of the Fulham nursery, where ~ 
it flowered in August last; and was found to do very well. 
in the open ground on a warm sheltered border. 
Rootstock horizontal. Leaves about 7, equitant, clasping 
the lower part of the stem, lanceolate, 6 inches or more in 
length, scarcely one broad. Stem 13 to 2 feet high or 
higher, round, slender, generally dichotomous; branches 
long and generally equal, leafless, simple, with a small leaf 
at their base. Zowers with long peduncles, of a violet- 
purplish colour, scentless, of short duration: Corolla six- 
parted to the base, entirely or nearly beardless, 1 inch and 
Z deep: segments cuneately oblong; wngues from upright, - _ 
spreading; the laminw of the 3 outer nearly twice shorter 
than the white and purple figured ungues: 3 inner but little 
longer than the ungues of the outer ones, with a very short 
lamina divided into two lobes with intermediate teeth. 
The lobes of the inner lip of the stigmas lanceolate con- 
tiguous at the inner edges and rolled back at the outer; 
the outer lip bifid, lobes villous on the inside. _ 
