Iris afghanica
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''Iris afghanica'' is a plant species in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Iris'' and in the section ''Regelia''. It is a rhizomatous
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
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, with thin bluish-green leaves and creamy yellow or white flowers, that are veined with purple-brown. It has yellow-green or purple beards. Although, in the wild, it can vary in colour and size. 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

It has a small brown rhizome.British Iris Society (1997) Underneath, are long thin secondary roots. It forms small tufts of plants, which can be up to across. It has slender, bluish-green leaves, which have a narrow white, membranous inner margin. They can reach up to long, and between 0.2–0.6 cm wide but the outer leaves are often sickle-shaped (falcate).James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) The leaves appear in February (in Europe) and after flowering they die away completely. The plants can vary in size depending on the location and the altitude. At higher altitudes, the plants are deeper in colour and smaller (around about 10 cm tall). At lower altitudes, the plants are larger (around tall) and more paler in colour. The stems (or scapes) can grow up to between tall. The stems hold 1, sometimes 2 terminal (top of stem) flowers, in late spring to early summer, between April and June. The flowers are in diameter, come in shades of creamy yellow or white. 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 cream or white, drooping falls have a central purple signal patch, surrounded by purple-brown veining. In the centre of the petal is a beard of greenish yellow or purple hairs. The pale yellow upright standards, are long, they have a beard of greenish hairs on the lower part. As mentioned before, the plants can vary in colour due to altitude, the lower altitude plants can have pure white standards. It has a short style arm (above the falls) that is yellow, and veined with pale green. After the iris has flowered, it produces a seed capsule, which has not been described.


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 been counted twice, as 2n=22, by Gustafsson & Wendelbo, in 1975 and 2n=22, by Johnson & Brandham in 1997. It is commonly published as 2n=22.


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 ...
''afghanica'' refers to the country of Afghanistan, (where the iris comes from). In 1964, it was found by
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Paul Furse and his wife Polly, in Afghanistan, on the northern side of the Salang Pass in the Hindu Kush, north of the city of
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
. They initially thought that the iris was similar to '' Iris darwasica''. Later in 1966, on another plant hunting trip, they found more specimens of the iris and realised it was a new species. It was first published and described by
Per Wendelbo Per Wendelbo. Per Wendelbo (5 September 1866 – 26 February 1937) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He was born as Peder Haraldsen in Skien as a son of Peder Haraldsen, Sr. (1813–1887) og Caroline Mathilde Pedersen (1828–1907). In May 1890 ...
in 'Findings of the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh' (Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh) Vol.31 Issue 2, page 338 in 1972. It was also published in the Botanical Magazine Vol.668 in 1974. 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 2 December 2004. ''Iris afghanica'' is an accepted name by the RHS.


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 found in north eastern Afghanistan. It is found in the
Provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions. Each province encompasses a number of districts or usually over 1,000 villages. Provincial governors played a cr ...
, within
Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
and
Zabul Province Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabu ...
regions, along the
Salang River The Salang is a 438 kilometre long river of Afghanistan, flowing through Parwan Province. It is a tributary of the Indus River and the Ghorband River and the Panjshir River and the Kabul River. Geography The Salang River originates on the south si ...
, or in Kataghan Province. One source mentions the distribution range also extends to
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.


Habitat

It grows on the sunny, rocky mountain slopes composed of
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
or
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
, It was also recorded by Grey-Wilson (1973), as growing "amongst boulders along the banks of the Salang River or on rocky slopes amongst grasses away from the river confines". They can be found at an altitude of between above sea level.


Conservation

As of 26 May 2015, the iris has not yet been evaluated to
IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
criteria.


Cultivation

It is
hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...
to European Zone H4. Within UK, it is hardy but is best grown within a well-ventilated cold frame or
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 ...
. It replicate the natural conditions of hot, dry summers and freezing winters. It is best grown within well drained soils in a sunny situation. The plant is very sensitive to moisture and it needs to be heated in the sun. The rhizomes are very prone to viral diseases, if they are exposed to moisture or dampness. It can be seen in the 'Davies Alpine House' within
Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
. It is rare in cultivation (within the US), but established in cultivation (within Europe).


Propagation

It can be propagated by division or by seed growing. Division is better carried out in late summer.


Toxicity

Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.


References


Sources

* Heywood and Chant, 1982. Popular Encyclopedia of Plants. 181. * Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 61. * Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963–. Flora iranica.


External links


Has photos of the iris in flower
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15569620 afghanica Endemic flora of Afghanistan Garden plants of Asia Plants described in 1972