''Iris rossii'', the long-tail iris, is a beardless
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 ent ...
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 ent ...
'', in the subgenus ''
Limniris'' and in the series ''
Chinenses'' of the genus. 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 ...
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 Japan, Korea and China. It has narrow, grass-like leaves, short stems and 1 or 2 purple-violet flowers.
Description
''Iris rossii'' is similar in form to ''
Iris ruthenica''.
It has slender, tough, reddish-brown, creeping rhizomes.
[British Iris Society (1997) ] Under the rhizome, are long secondary roots growing into the soil, looking for nutrients and water.[
They have the yellow-brown remnants (sheaths or fibres) of the previous seasons leaves, at the base of new leaves.][
It has narrow, linear leaves, acuminate (ending in a point, grass-like), that are between long and wide.][ They have between 2–4 veins.][ They then elongate after flowering, up to long.][
It has dwarf, short stems,][ (or scapes) between long.][ The stem has 2 or 3 lanceolate (lance-like) between long and wide, ]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).[
It has one or two terminal (at the top of the stem) flower,][ in spring to early summer,][ between April,][ and May.][
The small flowers are in diameter,][ and come in a range of shades of purple and violet, but there are occasionally white forms as well.][ The white form is only found in Korea.][
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 obovate, 3 cm long and 0.8–1.2 cm wide, it is marked with white spots, veins or white signal area. It has a white/yellow centre section.][ The standards are erect or slightly angled, measuring 2.5 cm long and 0.8 cm wide.][
It has a long perianth tube of 5–7 cm,][ a 1 cm long pedicel, slender 1.5 cm long stamens, 1 cm long ovary and 2 cm long style branches (which are a similar colour to the petals).][
After the iris has flowered, it produces a globose (spherical) seed capsule between June and August.][
]
Biochemistry
In 2012, it was studied by isolating flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s including an anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...
and C-glycosylflavones, and xanthones
Xanthone is an organic compound with the molecular formula O 6H4sub>2CO. It is a white solid.
In 1939, xanthone was introduced as an insecticide and it currently finds uses as ovicide for codling moth eggs and as a larvicide. Xanthone is also ...
from the flowers and leaves. After the study, a specimen of ''Iris rossii'' was given to the herbarium of the National Museum of Nature and Science
The is in the northeast corner of Ueno Park in Tokyo. The museum has exhibitions on pre-Meiji period, Meiji science in Japan. It is the venue of the taxidermied bodies of the legendary dogs Hachikō and Taro and Jiro. A life-size blue whale mode ...
, Japan
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 been counted several times, 2n=32, Kurita, 1940,[ and 2n=34, Lee, 1970.]
Taxonomy
''Iris rossii'' is pronounced as ''EYE-ris ROSS-ee-eye''.
It is written as 小鸢尾 in Chinese script
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
and known as ''xiao yuan wei'' in China. In Korean script
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's Revised Romanization of Korean, standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system f ...
, it is written as 각시붓꽃. It is known as ''Ehime ayame'' in Japan, and written as えひめあやめin Japanese script
The modern Japanese writing system uses a combination of logographic kanji, which are adopted Chinese characters, and syllabic kana. Kana itself consists of a pair of syllabaries: hiragana, used primarily for native or naturalised Japanese wo ...
.
It has the common name of ''Long-tail Iris'' in China[ and Korea.
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 ...
''rossii'' refers to John Ross (1842–1915), a Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
missionary from Scotland, who lived in north-east China. John Gilbert Baker
John Gilbert Baker (13 January 1834 – 16 August 1920) was an English botanist. His son was the botanist Edmund Gilbert Baker (1864–1949).
Biography
Baker was born in Guisborough in North Yorkshire, the son of John and Mary (née Gilber ...
named the iris in his honour. After he had collected several specimens of the iris and sent them to Mr Baker. It was an inhabitant of dry sloping banks in the province of Sching-king, in Northern China, where it was gathered in flower on 27 April 1876.
It was then first published and 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 ...
in 'The Gardeners' Chronicle
''The Gardeners' Chronicle'' was a British horticulture periodical. It lasted as a title in its own right for nearly 150 years and is still extant as part of the magazine ''Horticulture Week''.
History
Founded in 1841 by the horticulturists Josep ...
' Vol.8 page 809 on 29 December 1877.[ It was later published in 'Gartenflora' Vol.27 page 382 in 1878, 'La Belg. Hort.' Vol.28 page89 in 1878 and the 'Journal of the Linnean Society of London' Vol.17 p387 in 1880.][
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.[
]
Native
''Iris rossii'' 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
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 ...
areas 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 Japan,[ (]Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
, Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
and Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
,[) Korea and China (Liaoning and ]Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
,[).][
From the notes of Isabella Bird Bishop on 29 April 1894, she explored the valley either side of the River Han in Korea. She found various plants and flora, including; '']Acanthopanax ricinifolia
''Eleutherococcus'' is a genus of 38 species,p.40, citing Frodin, Govaerts 2003 of thorny shrubs and trees in the family Araliaceae. They are native to eastern Asia, from southeast Siberia and Japan to the Philippines and Vietnam. 18 species come ...
'', ''Rhus vernicifera
''Toxicodendron vernicifluum'' (formerly ''Rhus verniciflua''), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree, is an Asian tree species of genus ''Toxicodendron'' native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of ...
'', '' Actinida pueraria'' and ''Iris rossii''.[Martin Uden ]
Originally, ''Iris rossii'' was thought to be only found in the Chinese north-eastern part, of the Korean Peninsula, but it was discovered first in Hojo within Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...
in Japan. It was then found in other regions of Japan including; the prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of Saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
, Oita, Miyazaki, Yamaguchi, Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
and Okayama
is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is .
The city is ...
. It was also found in the woodland of Nutanishi-chō, Mihara, Hiroshima
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on November 15, 1936. As of July 31, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 97,324 and a population density of 206.62 persons per km2. The total area i ...
.
Habitat
It grows in meadows (and grasslands) at forest margins, on sunny hillsides.[ and clearings within pine woods.][
At altitudes of 100m above sea level.][
]
Conservation
Between June and November 1990, the flora of vascular plants and vegetation were studied in the protected area of Hofu City within Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, it was classified as ''Vulnerable'' (on 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 List of Threatened Plants'') as well as '' Calanthe discolor''.
In 1995, it was classified as ''Vulnerable''. It had become a threatened species, due to plant hunting, changing of land use and habitat loss.
It was found within grassland under scattered pine trees, which have been used for compost, fodder and timber production.
In 2002, it was classified as ''Endangered (EN)'' in Kumamoto Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...
in 2002.[
]
Cultivation
''Iris rossii'' is hardy in the US and the UK, but is rare in cultivation.
It likes to grow in well-drained and nutrient rich soils.
It prefers positions in full sun but it is shade tolerant.[
It is also very drought-tolerant and could be suitable for ]xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is the process of Garden design, landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained accep ...
.[
It could be planted in alpine scree slopes and in ]rock gardens
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...
.[
]
Propagation
''Iris rossii'' does not like being 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 ...
, as it takes a long time to re-grow feeding roots, after transplanting.[
Therefore, propagation from the seed is preferred.][
It is thought to be a ]zoochory
In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant.
Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...
plant because ants
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...
like the seeds and carry them away to new positions. Allowing the plant to form new colonies elsewhere.[
]
Hybrids and cultivars
''Iris rossii forma Alba'' was found in the deciduous forests of Korea, by Dr Yong No Lee and then published in the 'Korean Journal of Botany' vol.17, No1, p33-35 in 1974.
It had white flowers streaked with yellow, instead of violet, found on other forms.[
But this was later declared a synonym of ''Iris rossii''.][
]
Toxicity
Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous or toxic (rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested, it can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.[David G Spoerke and Susan C. Smolinske]
References
Sources
* Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 81.
* Waddick, J. W. & Zhao Yu-tang. 1992. Iris of China.
* Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994–. Flora of China
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15227551
rossii
Flora of China
Flora of Japan
Flora of Korea
Garden plants of Asia
Plants described in 1877
Taxa named by Takenoshin Nakai