''Iris kuschakewiczii'' is a species in the genus '' Iris'', subgenus ''Scorpiris''. It is a bulbous

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 the hills of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. It has dark green glaucous leaves, a short thick stem and purple spring flowers.

Description

''Iris kuschakewiczii'' has a 1.5 cm (in diameter) bulb, with a paper tunic-coating. It has thickened storage roots, close to the base. It has 4-5 dark green glaucous leaves which gradually taper to the apex, (falcate), They are clustered together at the base, and are 1-1.5 cm wide (close to the base). They also have a contrasting white edge or margin. It grows up to a height of between , including the flower. It has a thick stem, which is between 3–5 cm long, hidden by the leaves, unbranched with 1-4 flowers. The blooms appear in April–May. The non-scented flowers appear above a perianth tube of 3.5-4.5 cm long. The flowers come in various shades of purple, from greenish purple, pale violet, violet-blue, to lilac blue. The (3.5–4 cm long), falls have very dark violet blotches and lines on either side of a prominent white crest, or white signal patch. The blades are oblong-obvate shaped (about 1.2 x 0.7 cm). The standards are 1 – 1.5 cm long (often 3 lobed shaped). The flowers measure approx. 6.5–8 cm in diameter. The bracts and bracteole are green with membranous tips and margins. The fruits appear in late spring-early summer.

Taxonomy

It was originally published as ''Iris kuschakewiczi'' by Boris Fedtschenko in 'Bull. Jard. Bot. Petersb.' v. 158 (Bulletin of St. Petersburg Botanical Garden) in 1905. In 1958, Petr Petrovich Poljakov re-published it as ''Juno kuschakewiczii'' in Fl. Kazakhst. 2: 249. In 1939, it was suggested this was a form of

Iris narynensis ''Iris narynensis'' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of ''Scorpiris''. It is a bulbous perennial. It was published in Bulletin of the Jardin of St Peterburg's Botanic Garden 159 in 1905. The name comes from ...

, but when Mathew published "The Iris" in 1981, he retained it as a separate species. ''Iris kuschakewiczii'' is now an accepted name by the RHS. It was named after a Russian botanist 'A. A. Kuschakewicz' who worked with N. J. Korolkov in 1872, and Boris Fedtschenko in 1873. A. A. Kuschakewicz collected many plants in

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. It is mentioned in D.J. Mabberley portable plant books of 1997.

Native

In 1905, ''Iris kuschakewiczii'' was found in

, on the northern foothills of the

Tien Shan Mountains The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

. It can be found on gravelly and rocky slopes, on the red-clay hills of

(on the north-western spurs of the Tien Shan). It is also found in the Ala Archa National Park (25 km from the capital of

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

) of

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

Cultivation

It is fairly easy to grow in cultivation, within an

alpine house A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These s ...

or bulb frame,British Iris Society (1997) it does not need much moisture in summer. It can be grown outside in a sheltered, sunny raised bed with well drained soils.

References

External links

Image of ''Iris kuschakewiczii''Image of a pot of several ''Iris kuschakewiczii's''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15572225 kuschakewiczii Plants described in 1905 Flora of Central Asia Flora of Kazakhstan Flora of Kyrgyzstan