■ (SPEC) Iris humilis Georgi

1961, Botanical author Georgi

Iris humilis Georgi ( Johann Gottlieb Georgi, 1961); Section Psammiris . Height 2-10" (5-25 cm); Flowers yellow, falls flared; beards orange; Georgi in Bemerk. Reise Russ. Reich 1, 196; Karl H. Ugrinsky in Fedde's Report. Spec. Nov., Beihefte 14: (1922).

See below:

• * References
• * Synonyms
• * Chromosome counts
• * Variations
• * Hybrids

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References:

Edward's Botanical Register 7: table 549, 1821: "A very newly introduced species ; drawn in April last at the nursery of Messre. Colvill in the King's Road; but had as we are informed, made its appearance the year before last in the Physic Garden at Chelsea. Native of Hungary, where it is constantly found in dry sandy places. Differs from pumila in being smaller in all the parts, and in having a primary flower, the fruit of which miscarries, while that of the secondary flower comes to perfection; in regard to this character indeed, as far as we have seen, it differs from the whole genus. Flavissima, the nearest akin, is found constantly to affect springy moist places, flowers later in the year, and has a scape higher than the leaves. Lutescens, also very close to our plant, is much larger, with a proportionately longer scape. The four are very like, but still evidently distinct in port and economy, besides the above technical marks. Arenaria, we believe, will prove quite hardy; though the present sample had been sheltered in the winter. Rootstock horizontal, many-budded along the upper side. Scape 1 ½ to 2 inches high, rather thicker than a crow-quill, round, shining, green, simple, shorter than the leaves. Leaves few, narrow, linearly ensiform, faintly nerved, upright, about 3 inches long, lightish green. Spathe 3-valved, 2-flowered, herbaceous, convolutely folded, lanceolate, smooth, inner valve cleft at the top. Flowers light yellow, peduncled, strongly but not disagreeably scented, upright, with the tube about an inch and a half deep, the first barren, the second fertile: peduncles enclosed, nearly the length of the germen and tube. Germen enclosed, green, 1/3 of an inch long, evenly continuous with the tube of the corolla, oblong, a little thicker than a crow-quill, roundedly 3-cornered, the intervening facets marked by a deeper green scarcely raised rib; cells with many ovula in two rows. Corolla funnelform: tube enclosed, pale green, piped, about the thickness of a crow-quill, slightly tapered downwards, 3 times shorter than the limb : limb turbinately divergent at the lower part, spreading and recurved at the upper, segments of one length, 3 outer ones bearded, about 1/4 broader, about 1/4 of an inch wide, of rather a deeper yellow than the others, cuneately oblong, unguis evenly continuous with the recurved retuse lamina and marked on each side with purple veins, beard a narrow strip of deep yellow hairs ; inner ones narrower, cuneately ligulate, waved, recurved at the upper part, crenulately eroded at the top, unguis narrow, inflectedly channelled, 3 times shorter than the lamina stained with purple. Stigmas paler, about the length of the bearded part of the segment, segments lanceolate, taper-pointed, uprightly recurved: outer lip membranous, short, smooth, white, truncate.
Redoute's les Liliaceae
Dykes in The Genus Iris, 1913, as I. flavissima: Description. Rootstock , a slender, much branched, wide-creeping rhizome Leaves , linear-ensiform, somewhat blunt, 3-4 in a tuft, 3-4 in. long by ¼-¼ in. broad, at flowering time, of a pale glaucous green. Stem , 1-3 in. in length, bearing a terminal head of 2-3 flowers. Spathe valves . The outer valve is acutely lanceolate and scarious m the upper part, 1-1¾ in. long; the inner is usually blunter. Pedicel , ¼ in. Ovary , 1/3 in. long, rounded trigonal, with a ridge on either face, so that the section is almost hexagonal. Tube , ¼ in., funnel shaped. Buds , green, veined and tipped with bronze. Falls . The oblong, bright yellow blade is slightly shorter than the wedge shaped haft, which is faintly veined with brown purple. The beard is orange, the club-shaped hairs being tipped with brown along the haft. Standards . Oblong unguiculate, the blade being yellow and the haft yellow, veined at the edge with brown purple. Styles , short and narrow. Crests , relatively large, triangular with acute tips. Stigma , entire. Filaments , colourless, about equal to the anthers. Anthers , cream, with green-black edges. Pollen , greenish. Capsule , 1¼ in. long, tapering to the upper end, on which the tube and withered flower persist. The shape is that of the capsule of I. Korolkowi, namely, rounded trigonal. It dehisces below the apex ( cf. Figs. 13, p. 124, and 15). Seeds , brown, pyriform, with a long neck and a creamy white, flat aril. Observations. I can see no good reason for separating the Hungarian I. arenaria from this Altai species. Other plants, among them I. ruthen£ca and apparently I. humilis, are found in Hungary and then not again until the Altai region is reached. The variation of I. arenaria in cultivation according to the soil and conditions under which it is grown is sufficient to justify us in ignoring the supposed difference in size of the two plants, which is mentioned by Waldstein and Kitaibel. Even Maximowicz, whose practice it was to magnify minute differences into specific characters, admits (B. A. P. xxv1. p. 530 ( r 880)) that I. flavissima and I. arenaria are only two forms of the same species, the former being slightly larger because it grows in moister, richer soil than the Hungarian plant. This Iris shows a distinct affinity to the Regelia group, in the character of its stoloniferous rhizome, in the capsule, which tapers at either end and dehisces below the apex and in the seeds with their less developed, but noticeable, aril. To do well, this Iris should be grown m a sunny, well-drained position in the rock-garden, the slender rhizomes being planted in a layer of very sandy soil about two inches deep, overlying soil which has been enriched with old leaf soil. When the rhizomes become too crowded, or show by their weak growth that the soil is becoming exhausted, they should be lifted and replanted soon after the flowers have withered. The plants require moisture when growth is active in spring. Seeds are easily obtained by artificial pollination. They germinate fairly readily and the young plants grow rapidly, spreading in all directions, so that in the second year from the germination of the seed a plant will often produce as many as 6-8 flower-stems. Consequently the seedlings, when planted out, should be placed further apart than their small size would at first sight suggest.

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Synonyms

Synonyms: Iris arenaria Wald. & Kit.; Iris dahurica Klatt ex Herbert; Iris flavissima Pallas; Iris pineticola Klokuv.; Iris borzeana (Prodan) Prodan. ----

Chromosome counts:

The following two chromosome reports suggest we may be dealing with two separate entities; 2n=27, Krogulevich 1978; 2n-24, Sokolovskya & Probatova, 1986; 2n=28, Starobudtsev & Mironova, 1990; 2n=28, Malakhova, 1990; 2n=28 Malakhova & Markova, 1994. As I. flavissima 2n=22, Doronkin.

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Variations

Iris humilis variations include;
'Arenaria', 'Borzeana', 'Dahurica', 'Flavissima', 'Flavissima Orientalis', 'Flavissima Phylospatha', 'Stolonifera' 'Transuralensis', 'Umbrosa'.

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Iris humilis crosses include;

'Arenaphylla', 'Bricky', 'Bronya', 'Buster Brown', 'Butter Ball', 'Cream Tart', 'Cup & Saucer', 'Gay Flirt', 'Glow Gleam', 'Goetz', 'Jenny', 'Keepsake', 'Kola', 'Koviar', 'Lilac Girl', 'Meine Mutter', 'Mini Pearl', 'Missona', 'Mist O' Pink' 'Morning Light' 'One Little Indian' 'Patula' 'Pumar Alpha', 'Pumar Beta', 'Six Bits', 'Sunaire', 'Tampa', 'Tiny Treasure', 'Ugrinskyana', 'Valery Germanis', 'Ylo'.

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-- BobPries - 2010-03-04