''Iris bucharica'' (also Bukhara iris, corn leaf iris and horned iris) is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Iridaceae. It is a bulbous

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, from temperate Asia, within

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. It has long blue green leaves, many flowers in spring, in shades of yellow and white.

Description

''Iris bucharica'' has a yellowish white bulb, about 2 cm in diameter, with thin fleshy roots.James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) It grows high. The lanceolate (lance-like) leaves which are blue-green below and glossy green above, reach up to wide and long. They are scattered up the flower stems. Each stem produces up to seven unscented flowers in spring. They bloom in order from the top of the stem, going downwards. The

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

tube is about long. Like other irises, it has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

(outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

), known as the 'standards'. The flowers have white or creamy white standards with yellow falls. The falls sometimes have brown markings and a deep yellow crest. The flowers are about across. Pure yellow forms are occasionally wrongly labelled as '' I. orchioides'' (a different species). The stigmas are semicircular, with whitish anthers and pollen. ''Iris bucharica'', ''Iris orchioides'' and '' Iris warleyensis'' all have cubiform seeds.

Biochemistry

Most irises are

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

, having two sets of

chromosomes A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings.

Taxonomy

It is commonly known as 'Bukhara iris', 'corn leaf Iris', or 'horned iris'. It is pronounced 'bukh-AR-ee-kuh' and named after the city of

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

.John Weathers ''Iris bucharica'' was illustrated in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Tab. 7111 on 1 April 1890, and was incorrectly described by

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

as a specimen of ''

Iris orchioides ''Iris orchioides'', the orchid iris'',' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Scorpiris''. It is a bulbous perennial, from the mountains of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It has dark green leaves, slender stems, up ...

''. It was then published as ''Iris bucharica'' in The Gardeners' Chronicle by

Foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), American ...

in 1902. Michael Foster got the bulbs from the UK bulb merchant Van Tubergen (mainly based in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, Netherlands). It was also published in “Flora and Sylva” in 1905. It was then introduced into the UK in 1902. It was verified by

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

and the

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...

on 4 April 2003, then updated on 1 December 2004.

Distribution and habitat

''Iris bucharica'' is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to temperate Central Asia. in north-eastern Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan around Bukhara. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the Gissar Range, in the valleys of Surkhan-darya, Kafirnigan, Vakhsh, Ak-su and Kizyl-su rivers. It is found at , in pebble beds and gravelly slopes of the lower mountain zone.

Cultivation

''Iris bucharica'' is widely cultivated in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, and in the UK it has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It prefers free draining fertile soils which are neutral or slightly alkaline. The bulbs are planted in late summer or autumn, deep, in gravelly soils in full sun. Like others of its kind it needs a period of warmth and dryness during the summer, to prevent the fleshy roots from rotting away. This is normally after the foliage dies back in late June or early July. It is

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Zones 4–9. It is hardy in most areas of the UK, down to . But it can be grown in a pot in a greenhouse, providing it is kept dry in summer and left out in the autumn rains. It will increase by

bulblet In botany, a bulb is structurally a short Plant stem, stem with fleshy leaf, leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food st ...

s, naturalising quickly where growing conditions are favourable, allowing for the creation of drifts in borders or rock gardens. Plants may be lifted and divided every 3–4 years, to prevent overcrowding. It is also possible to grow from seed, but it will take several years before the bulbs are big enough to produce flowers. ''Iris orchioides'' hybridizes freely with ''I. bucharica'' to create a large golden-flowered hybrid. It is deer resistant.

Cultivars

* ''Iris'' 'Sunny Side Up': a hybrid of ''Iris bucharica'' and ''

Iris magnifica ''Iris magnifica'' is a bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Iris'', in the subgenus ''Scorpiris''. It is native to the mountains of Central Asia, including the Zarafshan Range in Uzbekistan. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temper ...

'', this cultivar has yellow and white flowers. It grows up to a height of * ''Iris bucharica'' 'Princess' (Foster): this cultivar flowers in April and May, the fragrant flowers (similar to freesia), are white with yellow blades on the falls. It reaches a height of (also known as ''Iris orchioides'' f. ''bicolor'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q997886 bucharica Flora of Uzbekistan Flora of Afghanistan Flora of Tajikistan