Iris vartanii

Iris vartanii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Iridoideae
Tribe: Irideae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Hermodactyloides
Species: Iris vartanii
Binomial name
Iris vartanii
(Foster)
Synonyms

Iridodictyum vartanii (Foster) Rodion.[1]

Iris vartanii is a species in the genus Iris. It is also part of the sub-genus Hermodactyloides and Section Reticulatae. It is a bulbous perennial.

It was once though to be part of the Iris sub-genus Xiphium.[2] It is sometimes referred to as 'Vartanni Iris', [3] or 'Iris vartani'.[4]

It was first described in 1885 in Gardeners' Chronicle, and an illustration (No.6942) was published in Curtis's Botanical Magazine two years later.[5] It was named by Sir Michael Foster after Dr. Vartan from Nazareth.[6]


Habit

It has four leaves that are un-equalsided and up to 20cm tall (when in flower), but that increases to nearly 40cm later.[7]

It flowers between October and December.[8] The flowers are greyish lilac-white, (or slaty blue [7]) with falls having dark blue veins. The flowers smell of almonds.[5]

Due to its early flowering (during winter), the leaves can be damaged (by snow and ice) so much that the plant does not form healthy bulbs for the next year.[9] So it is best grown like other species of iris in an alpine house or bulb frame. It is hardy to USDA Zone 3.[5]

Like other members of the reticulata group (including Iris danfordiae), it has the habit of the main bulb splitting into many bulblets, that can take many years (between 2-3 years) to reach flowering size again.[6]

Native

It was originally found near the city of Nazareth in Palestine.[8] It was also found in Israel, Jordan and Syria.[10] On rocky hillsides.[11] It is found in Golan, Galilee, Mount Carmel, Samarian desert and Judean mountains, various regions of Israel.[12] But according to Dr Dawud Al-Eisawi's book Wild Flowers of Jordan, it is now thought to be extinct in Jordan.[13][3]

Cultivar

First found in 1910 in Beersheba and Hebron,[8] it was originally thought to be a white form of I. histrioides. On 21st December 1912, it was described in 'The Garden' magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society, now as a white form of I. vartanii. Then in 1913, it gained Award of Merit by the RHS.[14]

It is sometimes referred to as Iris vartanii var. alba.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Iris vartanii Foster". theplantlist.org. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Botanical Magazine" (PDF). www.ars-grin.gov. p. 12. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Moira McCrossan, Hugh Taylor Jordan , p. 8, at Google Books
  4. ↑ Dyke, William Rickatson (6 July 1907). "DYKES ON IRISES" (pdf). www.beardlessiris.org. p. 6. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Walters, Stuart Max (Editor)European Garden Flora: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated, p. 354, at Google Books
  6. 1 2 Foster, Prof. Michael (3 May 1892). "Bulbous Irises". www.archive.org (A Lecture delivered May 3, 1892 to the Royal Horticultural Society). Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  7. 1 2 Cassidy, G.E.; Linnegar, S. (1987). Growing Irises (Revised ed.). Bromley: Christopher Helm. p. 144-145. ISBN 0-88192-089-4.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Lynch, RichardThe Book of the Iris, p. 164, at Google Books
  9. ↑ Dykes, W. R. (5 January 1924). "DYKES ON IRISES (reprints his contributions to various journals) inc. 'The Garden'" (pdf). Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Species Records of Iris subg. Hermodactyloides". Germplasm Resources Information Network (United States Department of Agriculture). Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Iris vartanii". encyclopaedia.alpinegardensociety.net. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Iris vartanii". www.wildflowers.co.il. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Black on black or "Iris petrana"". 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "(SPEC) 'White Pearl'". wiki.irises.org (American Iris Society). Retrieved 19 July 2014.

External links

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