''Iris ludwigii'', with the common name Ludwig iris, is a species in the genus ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

''. It is also in the subgenus ''

Iris subg. Limniris Subgenus ''Limniris'' is one subgenus of beardless irises, which don't have hair on their drooping sepals, also called their ''fall''s. 'Limniris' is derived from the Latin for marsh or living-in-lakes iris, or pond iris. This refers to the fact ...

'' and in the series '' Spuriae''. It is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial plant 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 ...

with violet-blue flowers. It is native to the

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

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 ...

, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan meet. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant 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.

Description

''Iris ludwigii'' is similar in form to ''

Iris pontica ''Iris pontica'' is a species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Limniris'' and in series '' Spuriae''. It is a dwarf rhizomatous perennial plant from eastern Europe, the Causcasus region and Russia, with a short stem and viole ...

'', but differs in shape and size of the rhizome. It has a stout, creeping rhizome. That forms compact and often crowded plants. It has between 2 and 4, linear, grass-like, lanceolate, long, and 5mm wide leaves. The leaves have 3–7 veins. It has very variable sized stems that can be obsolete or underground, or 2–3 cm long, or up to cm long. It has lanceolate and green, paper-like

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s (leaves of the flower bud). The stems hold 1–2 terminal (top of stem) flowers, between May and June. The flowers last on the plant between 6–8 days. It has flowers that are in diameter, that are violet-blue. 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 falls are lanceolate, with white marks and violet-blue veining. The centre of the falls is covered with short unicellular hairs, (looking similar to a yellow beard). The standards are erect, narrow and oblong. It has a slender

filiform Filiform, thread or filament like, can refer to: *Filiform, a common term used in botany to describe a thread-like shape *Filiform, or filiform catheter, a medical device whose component parts or segments are all cylindrical and more or less uni ...

(thread-like), perianth tube. It has linear style branches, that white with violet-blue tips. It has yellow or white filaments and orange anthers. After the iris has flowered, it produces a seed capsule (not described) between August and September.

Biochemistry

As 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. It has a chromosome count: 2n=38. In 2003, a study was carried out on the chromosome sequencing of various irises from the Siberian region of central Asia. They sequenced the rbcL gene from some Siberian iris species belonging to different subgenera, including ''

Iris halophila ''Iris halophila'' is a species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Limniris'' and in series '' Spuriae''. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, with yellow, white or violet flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in tem ...

'', ''Iris ludwigi'', ''

Iris uniflora ''Iris uniflora'' is a species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Limniris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Russia, Mongolia, China and Korea. It has thin grass-like leaves and stems, and purple, blue-purple or violet flow ...

'', ''

Iris pseudacorus ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", re ...

'', ''

Iris glaucescens ''Iris glaucescens'' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, found in Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. It has blue-grey sickle-shaped leaves, slender stem, and spring fl ...

'', ''

Iris tigridia ''Iris tigridia'' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris''; it is also in the subgenus ''Iris'' and in the section ''Pseudoregelia''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and China. It has dark green or greyish green, ...

'', and ''

Iris laevigata ''Iris laevigata'', known as Japanese iris, rabbit-ear iris, or shallow-flowered iris (Japanese: カキツバタ), is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to Japan. It is related to other members of ''Iris'' subgenus '' ...

''. Their results supported Brian Mathew's classification from 1989. That ''Iris halophila'' and ''Iris ludwigii'' form a cluster.

Taxonomy

The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''ludwigii'' refers to the 18th century Professor of natural history and medicine,

Christian Gottlieb Ludwig Christian Gottlieb Ludwig (30 April 1709 – 7 May 1773) was a German physician and botanist born in Brieg, Silesia (now Brzeg, Poland). He was the father of physician/naturalist Christian Friedrich Ludwig (1757–1823) and of Christian L. Ludw ...

. It has the common name of ''Ludwig Iris''. It was originally published and described by Karl Johann Maximowicz in the 'Bulletin of the Academy of Imperial Science, Saint-Pétersburg Vol.26 pages508-509 in 1880. It was later published in Mélanges Biol. Bull. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg Vol.10 page721 in 1880 (Diagn. pl. nov. asiat.). In his book (Iris, 1913)

William Rickatson Dykes William Rickatson Dykes (4 November 1877 – 1 December 1925) was an English amateur botanist who became an expert in the field of iris breeding and wrote several influential books on the subject. He was also interested in tulips, amaryllis, and ...

was once thought ''Iris ludwigii'' to a form of ''

Iris humilis ''Iris humilis'' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris (plant), Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of ''Iris subg. Iris, Iris'' and in the ''Psammiris'' section. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, perennial, with a wide distribution range fro ...

'' with stoloniferous rhizomes, the Academy of Imperial Science, Saint-Pétersburg did not agree with this. It was later treated as a separate species by

Brian Mathew Brian Frederick Mathew MBE, VMH is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, particularly ornamental bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other fields o ...

. Georgi Rodionenko had proposed ''Series Ludwigia'' for this species. But after chromosomal studies were carried out it was then placed in ''Series Spuriae''. It was mentioned in 'Vascular Plants of Russia and Adjacent States (the Former USSR)'. 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, ...

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.

Distribution and habitat

''Iris ludwigii'' 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 ...

regions of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Range

It is found in

, between east

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 ...

, and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, and

Altai Republic The Altai Republic (; russian: Респу́блика Алта́й, Respublika Altay, ; Altai: , ''Altay Respublika''), also known as Gorno-Altai Republic, and colloquially, and primarily referred to in Russian to distinguish from the neighbour ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is listed with ''

Iris bloudowii ''Iris bloudowii'' is a species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of ''Iris'' and in the ''Psammiris'' section. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, with sickle-shaped leaves, slend ...

'', '' Iris psammocola'', ''

Iris ruthenica ''Iris ruthenica'', sometimes called ever blooming iris (in the UK), Russian iris, pilgrim iris and Hungarian iris (in Europe), is a species in the genus ''Iris''- subgenus '' Limniris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, with a wide distribution, r ...

'', ''

Iris sibirica ''Iris sibirica'' ( commonly known as Siberian iris or Siberian flag), is a species in the genus ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from Europe (including France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hu ...

'', ''

Iris tenuifolia ''Iris tenuifolia'' is a beardless iris in the genus ''Iris'', in the subgenus '' Limniris'' and in the series '' Tenuifoliae'' of the genus. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from a wide region over central Asia, including Afghanistan, P ...

'' and ''

'' as being found in the

Altai-Sayan region The Altai-Sayan region is an area of Inner Asia proximate to the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains, near to where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together. This region is one of the world centers of temperate plant diversity. Its ...

(where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together). It is also found in the Altai-Dzungarian region of the Altai mountains (between

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Habitat

It grows on the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

s, in meadows, in thickets of '' Neotrinia splendens'', and on gravelly slopes.

Conservation

It is listed in the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

''Red Book of the Altai Territory''. It is at risk due to the effects of cattle grazing, ploughing and other farming methods. In April 2005, a Working draft of Species Action Plan for ''Iris ludwigii'' was created for the at risk plants on the Altai Mountains. It is mentioned as one of the 17 species of plants are included in the 'Red Book of Kazakhstan', and they are: Steppe peony ('' Paeonia hybrida''), Spring asphodel, (''

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. Mor ...

''), Pink rhodiola (''

Rhodiola rosea ''Rhodiola rosea'' (commonly golden root, rose root, roseroot, Aaron's rod, Arctic root, king's crown, ''lignum rhodium'', orpin rose) is a perennial flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It grows naturally in wild Arctic regions of Europe ...

''), Altai rhubarb ('' Rheum altaicum''), Altai daphne ('' Daphne altaica''), Snow ('' Macropodium nivale''), Siberian adder's-tongue (''

Erythronium sibiricum ''Erythronium sibiricum'' is a bulbous perennial plant in the lily family Liliaceae, commonly known as the Siberian fawn lily or Siberian trout lily. Traits The two basal leaves are often covered with spots. The perigones are between 25 and 7 ...

''), Maral root (''

Rhaponticum carthamoides ''Rhaponticum carthamoides'', also known as Maral root or Rhaponticum, is an herbaceous perennial plant from the family Asteraceae that inhabits the sub-alpine zone ( above sea level) as well as alpine meadows. It can be found growing wild in So ...

''), Vereschagin (''

Limnas veresczaginii ''Limnas'' is a genus of Asian plants in the grass family. It is found in northern and central Asia (Russia and Kazakhstan). ; Species * '' Limnas malyschevii'' O.D.Nikif. - Krasnoyarsk, Yakutiya * ''Limnas stelleri'' Trin. - Krasnoyarsk, Yakuti ...

''), Heteropetals tulip ('' Tulipa heteropetala''), Small-fruit cranberry ('' Oxycoccus microcarpus''), ('' Cymbaria dahyrica''), Altai anthrax (''

Sibiraea altaiensis ''Sibiraea'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Rosaceae, disjunctly found in the Balkans, Central Asia, and China. The type species is ''Sibiraea laevigata'', which is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental garden plant. Species S ...

''), Stemless ('' Leiospora excapa''), Altai gimnospermium ('' Gimnospermium altaicum'') and Fir club moss ('' Lycopodium selago''). 5 species of plant were put into the 'Red Book of Russian Federation', they are Steppe peony (''Paeonia hybrida''), Altai rhubarb (''Rheum altaicum''), Altai daphne (''Daphne altaica''), Ludwig iris (''Iris ludwigii'') and Siberian adder's-tongue (''Erythronium sibiricum'').

Cultivation

''Iris ludwigii'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

for gardens. It prefers locations in full sun, on soils with good drainage. In nature and in cultivation, it was found that the plant, flowers but they are

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

with underdeveloped stamens. Therefore, does not produce seeds. It is hardy enough to grow and be cultivated in the botanical gardens of

Barnaul Barnaul ( rus, Барнау́л, p=bərnɐˈul) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob Rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As ...

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

and Chita, Zabaykalsky Kra, in Russia. It was trialled at The Botanical Garden of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1971. It bloomed three times but then died after flowering.

Propagation

It can be propagated by

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

or by seed growing.

References

Other sources

*Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934–1964. Flora SSSR. *Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 113. *Rare and Endangered Plants of Siberia, 1980

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15572114 ludwigii Altai Mountains Flora of Kazakhstan Flora of Mongolia Flora of Siberia Flora of Xinjiang Plants described in 1880 Garden plants of Asia Taxa named by Karl Maximovich