''Iris henryi'' is a beardless rhizomatous
iris. It is in the genus ''
Iris'', subgenus ''
Limniris'' and in the series ''Chinenses'' of the genus, from China. It has thin green leaves, short stem and light-blue, to creamy-white or pale yellow flowers.
Description
It is a small plant which makes foliage resembling a miniature
Iris graminea
''Iris graminea'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the subgenus '' Limniris'' of the genus ''Iris'', in particular the series '' Spuriae''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, with purple or violet blue flowers almost hidden by narrow, g ...
(in Spuria section), the buds do not show up, and the flowers suddenly open up flat at the height of leaf tips,
[
It has thin long rhizome.][
The stem reaches up to 8 cm (4–6 inches) in height, with a single, two-flowered (bud) spathe.][
The spathe valves are entirely green when the flower is expanded, and though they are an inch or more in length, yet the pedicel (stem of the flower) is even longer, so that the ovary is exposed above the spathes.][ The perianth tube is very short at 4 mm long.][
The flower buds are yellow, but the flowers blooming in April, range from light-blue,][ to creamy-white or pale yellow.][
They are about 3 cm in diameter, and have a small yellow patch in the centre of the falls, which deepens to green on the haft, the outside of falls are yellow, shading to green in the lower half (the haft near the stem).][
The two flowers (on the double spathe) open together for about 4 days, the first flower lasting for about 10 days in good conditions.][
Capsules and seeds have not seen or described. They are very difficult to cultivate into producing seed.][
]
Taxonomy
It is known as ''chang bing yuan wei '' in Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
in China, which is translated into English as 'long-pedicel iris'.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 ...
in 'Handbook of the Irideae' in Aug–Nov 1892.
It was later published by Liu Yin in 'Chinese Magazine of Botany' 3(2):591 in 1936. It was also published as 'Iris gracilipes' by Renato Pampanini (Pamp). in Nuov. Gion. Bot. Ital. in 1915. (Now classed as a synonym of ''Iris henryi'')Augustine Henry
Augustine Henry (2 July 1857 – 23 March 1930) was a British-born Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a rec ...
.
Distribution and habitat
''Iris henryi'' 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 China.[
]
Range
In China, it is found within the Chinese provinces, of Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
, Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
, Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
and Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
.[
It is also found in the thick grasses on the hillsides of Kiai Chow,][ and near the middle ]Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
near Ichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
.
Cultivation
It is best cultivated in a greenhouse, but it is susceptible to mould
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. No ...
if too dry or wet in winter, and it is also prone to desiccation
Desiccation () is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.
...
during the spring or summer.
References
Sources
* Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 79.
* Waddick, J. W. & Zhao Yu-tang. 1992. Iris of China.
* Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994–. Flora of China (English edition).
External links
Images of Iris henryi and Iris cristata
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15227595
henryi
Endemic flora of China
Flora of Anhui
Flora of Gansu
Flora of Hubei
Flora of Hunan
Flora of Sichuan
Plants described in 1892