''Iris vartanii'' 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 ent ...
''. It is classified in the subgenus ''
Hermodactyloides
The subgenus ''Hermodactyloides'' of Iris includes all reticulate-bulbed bulbous irises. It was formerly named as a genus, ''Iridodictyum'' by Rodionenko in 1961. but it was not widely accepted and most botanists preferred 'Hermodactyloides'.
...
'' and section ''Reticulatae''. It is a
bulbous
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs durin ...
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 wid ...
.
It was once though to be part of the ''Iris'' subgenus
''Xiphium''. It is sometimes referred to as 'Vartanni Iris',
[Moira McCrossan, Hugh Taylor ] or 'Iris vartani'.
It was first described in 1885 in
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 Jose ...
, and an illustration (No.6942) was published in
Curtis's Botanical Magazine
''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''.
Each of the issue ...
two years later.
[Walters, Stuart Max (Editor)] It was named by
Sir Michael Foster after
Dr. Kaloost Vartan from
Nazareth.
Who discovered the iris while working in Palestine in the foothills around Nazareth, and sent the specimen to Foster for classification. It was originally described as brown in colour, presumably due to deterioration in transportation.
Habit
It has four leaves that are un-equalsided and up to 20 cm tall (when in flower), but that increases to nearly 40 cm later.
It flowers between October and December.
[Lynch, Richard] The flowers are greyish lilac-white, (or slaty blue
[) with falls having dark blue veins. The flowers smell of almonds.][
Due to its early flowering (during winter), the leaves can be damaged (by snow and ice) so much that the plant does not form healthy bulbs for the next year. So it is best grown like other species of iris in 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
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 c ...
. It is hardy to USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
Zone 3.[
Like other members of the reticulata group (including Iris danfordiae), it has the habit of the main bulb splitting into many bulblets, that can take many years (between 2–3 years) to reach flowering size again.][
]
Distribution
It was originally found near the city of Nazareth in Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.[ and it was also found in ]Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and Syria.Golan
Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ...
, Galilee, Mount Carmel, Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
n desert and Judean mountains
The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...
, various regions of Levantine.[
]
Cultivar
''I. vartanii'' ''White pearl''
First found in 1910 in Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
and Hebron,[ it was originally thought to be a white form of ''I. histrioides''. On 21 December 1912, it was described in 'The Garden' magazine of the ]Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
, now as a white form
Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens.
Form also refers to:
*Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data
...
of ''I. vartanii''. Then in 1913, it gained Award of Merit The Award of Merit, or AM, is a mark of quality awarded to plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The award was instituted in 1888, and given on the recommendation of Plant Committees to plants deemed "of great merit for exhibitio ...
by the RHS.[
]
References
Other sources
* Danin, A. 2004. Distribution atlas of plants in the Flora Palaestina area.
* Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 179.
* Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966–. Flora palaestina.
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6816328
vartanii
Flora of Israel
Flora of Jordan
Flora of Palestine (region)
Flora of Syria
Garden plants of Asia
Plants described in 1887