''Iris caucasica'' (also known as Caucasian iris)
[Robert Sweet, Edwin Dalton Smith (1904)] is a species of plant in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of Scorpiris. Pronounced as 'kaw-KAS-ee-kuh'.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 ...
It was described in 'Commentat. Soc. Phys.' to Caesareae Universitatis Mosquensis of 1808 by Georg Hoffman.
It was once confused with 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 ...
, but iris caucasica is a smaller plant, with sessile
Sessility, or sessile, may refer to:
* Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about
* Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant
* Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...
flowers. Also it has leaves that have white margins.[
Iris caucasica is an accepted name by the RHS.]
Habit
It has a brown ovoid bulb with fleshy roots.[ It is similar in form to '']Iris persica
''Iris persica'', the Persian iris, is a native plant of Iran. It is particularly known for its beauty and fragrance.
One of the first Juno irises to be described, this species has been in cultivation
for centuries and was listed by Philip Mill ...
''.[
It has grey green leaves,][ which are ]ciliate
The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...
[ and that start growing at flowering time.][ They reach up to 10–12 cm long and l-2 cm wide.][ The leaves have a faint white margin.][ It flowers in late spring.][ The flowers are not fragrant.][Lynch, Richard (1904) ]
Native
Iris caucasica grows on limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
mountain slopes (at 1200-3500m above sea level)[ in ]Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
[ and ]Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
,Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
mountains.[ ]Bieberstein Bieberstein is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolf Marschall von Bieberstein (1842–1912), German politician
* Adolph Bieberstein (1902–1981), American footballer
* Arno Bieberstein (1884–1918), German swimmer
*Fr ...
notes seeing it near Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
in the South Caucasus
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
.[
It has also been found in ]Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.[
]
Hybrids
In 1892, Michael Foster introduced a hybrid version ''Iris Caucasica'' 'Kharput'.[ Which does not have winged falls.][ It still has 4–5 flowers per stem, which are greenish-yellow. But they are generally larger than parent plant.][
]
Uses
''Iris caucasica'' (or ''Sarı nevroz'', a local name of Ovacık, Dersim) has been used a folk medicinal plant in Turkey. The flowers have been used in an infusion to treat colds.
References
Sources
*Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR). (L USSR) oted as 'Juno caucasica' (Hoffm.) Klatt
*Davis, P. H., ed. 1965–1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. (F Turk)
*Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934–1964. Flora SSSR. (F USSR)
*Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. (Iris) 146.
*Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963–. Flora iranica. (F Iran)
*Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966–. Flora of Iraq. (F Iraq)
External links
image of iris causica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q12217305
caucasica
''Leiostyla'' is a genus of small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Lauriidae.Falkner G., Obrdlík P., Castella E. & Speight M. C. D. 2001 ''Shelled Gastropoda of Western Europe''. München: Friedri ...
Plants described in 1808
Flora of Turkey
Flora of Armenia
Flora of Azerbaijan
Flora of the Caucasus
Flora of Israel
Flora of Palestine (region)