The term "Japanese iris" encompasses three species of Irises cultivated in gardens or growing wild in Japan: ''hanashōbu'' (''

Iris ensata ''Iris ensata'', the Japanese iris or Japanese water iris ( Japanese: ''hanashōbu''), formerly ''I. kaempferi'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to Japan, China, Korea and Russia, and widely cultivated as an orna ...

''), ''kakitsubata'' ('' Iris laevigata'') and ''ayame'' (''

Iris sanguinea ''Iris sanguinea'' is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the genus '' Iris'' and in the series '' Sibiricae''. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It is one of the species considered a Japanese iris. It is from Asia, fou ...

''). Of these three species, ''I. ensata'' is the one most commonly referred to as "Japanese iris" outside Japan. The bluish purple color of the flowers of the Japanese garden iris is an example of the

copigmentation Copigmentation is a phenomenon where pigmentation due to anthocyanidins is reinforced by the presence of other colorless flavonoids known as cofactors or “copigments”. This occurs by the formation of a non-covalently-linked complex. Examples ...

phenomenon.

''Hanashōbu''

The grows in the wet land and is the most extensively cultivated variety in Japanese gardens. According to the place where it was cultivated, it is classified into the Edo (Tokyo), Higo (Kumamoto Prefecture), Ise (Mie Prefecture), American (U.S.) and other series. It is extensively grown in gardens throughout the

temperate zones 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 ...

. Several cultivars have been selected, of which 'Rose Queen' and 'Variegata' have gained 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 ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

''Kakitsubata''

The grows in the semi-wet land and is less popular, but is also cultivated extensively. It is a prefectural flower of Aichi Prefecture due to the famous ''

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short p ...

'' poem which is said to have been written in this area during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

, as it appears in ''

The Tales of Ise is a Japanese ''uta monogatari'', or collection of '' waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most version ...

'' by

Ariwara no Narihira was a Japanese courtier and '' waka'' poet of the early Heian period. He was named one of both the Six Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses, and one of his poems was included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' collection. He i ...

(note that the beginning syllables are "ka-ki-tsu-ha (ba)-ta"): ''Kakitsubata'' at Ōta Shrine,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, is a National Natural Treasure. It was already recorded in a ''

'' by

Fujiwara Toshinari Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatar ...

also in the

''Ayame''

The is the

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 ...

typically growing wild on the dry land in Japan.

Characteristics

Note: Sweet flag, called ''shōbu'' () in Japanese, is a plant belonging to the family

Acoraceae ''Acorus'' is a genus of monocot flowering plants. This genus was once placed within the family Araceae (aroids), but more recent classifications place it in its own family Acoraceae and order Acorales, of which it is the sole genus of the oldes ...

, genus ''

Acorus ''Acorus'' is a genus of monocot flowering plants. This genus was once placed within the family Araceae (aroids), but more recent classifications place it in its own family Acoraceae and order Acorales, of which it is the sole genus of the oldes ...

'', known for its fragrant roots, rather than its flowers.

References

{{reflist

External links