''Iris schachtii'' is a plant 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 ''

''. 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 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 central

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, 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 ...

. It has small, thin grey-green leaves, a short stem with 1–3 branches, which are normally, covered with a green leaf with purple staining. It has 2 or more fragrant flowers in late spring (normally between May and June), which come in shades of yellow or purple, or violet and yellow, (from greenish yellow, mid-yellow, yellow, white, off-white to yellow/brown bi-tones). It has a yellow or white with yellow-tips beard. 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, but prefers regions with dry, hot summers.

Description

Similar in form to ''

Iris attica ''Iris attica'', the Greek iris, is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the mountains of the Balkans in Europe, within the countries of Greece, former Yugoslavia, Turkey ...

'', or ''

Iris imbricata ''Iris imbricata'' is a species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the Caucasus mountains, within Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It has broad, sword-like, yellow green or light ...

''.Basak Gardner & Chris Gardner It may also be related to ''

Iris taochia 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 ...

'' but it is smaller, with different leaves. It has nodular, fibrous and well branched rhizomes.British Iris Society (1997) That creep across the soil to create small clumps of plants. It has small, thin leaves, with are narrow. The

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 ...

, or semi-herbaceous leaves, are grey-green, glaucous, and can grow up to long, and between 1.5 cm wide. They are ensiform (sword shaped), crescent-shaped, or lanceolate (lance-shaped). They have parallel venation. It has a short stem or peduncle, that can grow up to between tall. It has 1–3 short branches, which can be hidden by the bracts. The stem has a short, semi-sheathing leaf, and 1 stem leaf, the branches have partially inflated spathes (leaves of the flower bud), which are long, and generally green with purple staining. They are transparent or membranous on the edges. The stems (and the 3 branches) hold several flowers, between 1 and 3, but normally 2 or more. In spring, in April, or between May and June. The flowers normally open in a sequence. The large flowers, are in diameter, come in shades of yellow or purple, or violet and yellow. Including greenish yellow, mid-yellow, yellow, white, off-white and yellow/brown bi-tones. The fragranced flowers, are similar in form to ''

Iris germanica 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 ...

'' flowers. Like other irises, ''Iris schachtii'' 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 dark veined, or brown veined, falls are obovate or obtuse shaped, up to long and 2.5 cm wide. In the middle of the falls, is a row of short hairs called the 'beard', which is yellow, or white with yellow-tips. It often is similar to the petal colour. It has broadly elliptic-obtuse shaped standards, that narrow abruptly, they are similar in shape to nautilus shells. It has a broad, smooth and 1.5 cm long ovary and a perianth tube that is 1.5–3 cm long. After the iris has flowered, it produces a seed capsule that has not been described.

Biochemistry

In 1989, a karyological study was carried out on 4 iris species in Turkey; including ''

Iris junonia ''Iris junonia'' is a plant species in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Cilicia (now part of Turkey), within the Taurus Mountains. It has glaucous short leaves, tall stems with several ...

'' Schott et Kotschy ex Schott, '' Iris purpureobractea'' B. Matthew et T.Baytop, ''

'' Woronow ex Grossh., and ''Iris schachtii''. It found the chromosome counts of the iris species. The chromosome count of 2n=48. In 2014, a new technique of in vitro plant tissue culture was carried out on '' Iris sari'' and ''Iris schachtii''. 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, but ''Iris schachtii'' is a

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

, with a count of 2n=48, by Koca, 1989.

Taxonomy

It is commonly known as 'prairie iris' in Turkey. 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 ...

of ''schachtii'' refers to

Wilhelm Schacht Wilhelm Schacht (born 11 December 1903 in Munich; died 17 February 2001 in Frasdorf) was a German botanist, gardener, photographer and author. He became known for being senior staff member of Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg, whose open ai ...

(1903–2001),

alpine garden An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in ...

er and plant collector for the

Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg The Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg (21.20 hectares) is a botanical garden and arboretum located at Menzinger Str. 65, Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is open daily, except on 24 and 31 December; an admission fee is charged. Histo ...

. It was first published and described by

Friedrich Markgraf Friedrich Markgraf (1 February 1897 in Berlin-Friedenau – 8 March 1987 in Zurich) was a German botanist. Life and work After secondary school, Markgraf studied biology at the Friedrich Wilhelm University Berlin. In 1922 he was awarded a ...

in 'Gartenbauwissenschaft' (Gartenbauw) in Vol.22 on page 550 in 1957. 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, ...

and the

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, then updated on 3 December 2004. It is listed in the

Encyclopedia of Life The ''Encyclopedia of Life'' (''EOL'') is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It is compiled from existing trusted databases curated by experts and with the assistance of non ...

. ''Iris schachtii'' is an accepted name by the RHS and was last listed in the RHS Plant Finder in 2014.

Distribution and habitat

It 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 Asia.

Range

It is an endemic of Turkey. Found in central Anatolia, from the plateau east of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, and between

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

and

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city ha ...

, of Turkey. Including being found near

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

. One source mentions the range goes as far as the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Habitat

It grows on the dry, rocky hillside, slopes, open

steppes 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, ...

, or mixed forests. In

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 ...

or chalky soils, in full sun. They can be found at an altitude of above sea level.

Synecology

On the steppes near Ankara, it grows with Beypazari milkvetch ('' Astragalus beypazaricus''), dark blue bottle (''

Centaurea depressa ''Centaurea depressa'', the low cornflower, is a species of ''Centaurea''. It is native to southwestern and central Asia. Its common name is Iranian knapweed. The plant grows to 0.3 m (1 ft) tall and flowers from July to August. It ca ...

''), and steppe thyme ('' Thymus sipyleus'').

Conservation

''Iris sari'' and ''Iris schachtii'' are assessed as 'least concern' (LC) in the Red Data Book of Turkish Plants, due to the widespread population. Although, this assessment could be changed due to the amount of plants being collected from the wild, for ornamental plants. IUCN Status: Unassessed

Cultivation

Like the other species from Turkey Ii. junonia and purpureobractea, this is a relative newcomer to cultivation. It is hardy, standing temperatures down to −20oC. It prefers to grow in well drained, limestone soils, in full sun. Preferring dry, hot summers. It can be grown in a

rock garden 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 ...

or trough. In the UK, it is best grown in

bulb frame In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from adverse weather, primarily excessive cold or wet. The transparent top admits sunlight and prevents heat escape via co ...

Propagation

Irises can generally 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.

Hybrids and cultivars

No known hybrids are found, but it has the potential to create fertile offspring when crossed with ''

Iris pumila ''Iris pumila'', sometimes known as pygmy iris or dwarf iris, probably originated as a natural hybrid between '' Iris pseudopumila'' Boissier & Heldreich and '' I. attica'' Tineo. It ranges from Austria through eastern Europe and the Balkans, in ...

'' and regelia section irises.

Toxicity

Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), and if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Handling the plant may cause skin irritation or an allergic reaction.David G Spoerke and Susan C. Smolinske

References

Sources

* Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965–1988 (F Turk) * Mathew, B. The Iris. 1981 (Iris) 34–35.

External links

Has a photo of the yellow iris

Another photo of the pale yellow iris
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15572498 schachtii Plants described in 1957 Garden plants Flora of Central Asia Flora of Turkey