Iris Speculatrix

''Iris speculatrix'' is a beardless iris in the genus ''Iris'', in the subgenus '' Limniris'' and in the series '' Chinenses'' of the genus. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from
Asia, found in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It has dark green, evergreen leaves, long slender stem and flowers in various blue shades, from violet, lilac, lavender, to light blue.

Description

Iris speculatrix has a creeping, thick, short brown rhizome.

It has glossy, linear, lanceolate (grass-like), dark green leaves that are long wide.
The leaves have a sheath-like covering of fibres near the rhizome, they also have veining, which is sometimes criss-crossed and they are sometimes considered evergreen.

It has long slender flowering stems of between tall. Normally within the range.
These stems are the tallest of any species iris in the Chinenses Series.

The stems have 1 – 2 leaves on the stem, and between 1 and 2 terminal (at the top of the stem) flowers, in spring and summer, between May, and June.

It has 2 or 3 green, lanceolate (lance-like), long, spathes (leaves of the flower bud), are acuminate (end in a point).

The flowers come in a range of blue shades, from violet, lilac, lavender, to light blue. They are between in diameter. Similar in size to '' Iris cristata''.

It has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals (outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or tepals, known as the 'standards'. The falls are spatulate (spoon-like), long and wide, with a distinctive white, central signal area, that is speckled with purple and also surrounded by a dark purple area. It also has a bright yellow or orange central crest.

The standards (the same colour as the falls) are erect, oblanceolate, long and wide.

It has long pedicel, 5 mm long perianth tube, under the tube is a solid beak. It has 1.2 cm stamens, white anthers, long and 0.5mm wide ovary and 2.5 cm long and 7 mm wide styles branches (that are a similar colour to the petals).

After the iris has flowered, between July and August, it produces an ellipsoid, seed capsule, long and 2 cm in diameter. They have a long beak (or acute point) at the top. They also bend at a 90 degree angle (right angle) from the stem.
Inside the capsule, are dark brown, angled seeds with an aril (like a pale brown wing).

Biochemistry

As most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings.}
It has had its chromosome count several times, 2n=44, Snoad in 1952; 2n=44, Lenz in 1959, 2n=44, Chimphamba in 1973; 2n=44, Mao & Xue in 1986.

Taxonomy

It is written as 小鸢尾 in Chinese script and known as ''xiao yuan wei'' or ''xiao hua yuan wei'' in China.

It has the common name of ''Small-flower Iris'' in China. or ''Hong Kong Iris'' (in Hong Kong).David Dudgeon and Richard Corlett

The Latin specific epithet ''speculatrix'' refers to the female Latin word 'to observe', or 'the woman who watches and observes, or 'female spy' or 'watcher', or, poetically "that looks towards the sea". It may refer the markings on the petals looking similar to pair of spectacles.

It was originally found in April, 1874, by a Chinese workman, employed by the botanical garden of Hong-Kong, on a hill facing the sea between Victoria Peak and Mount Davis, on Hong Kong island. Also found along the path of Wilson Trail

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