''Iris qinghainica'' is a beardless

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 ...

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 ...

'', in the subgenus '' Limniris'' and in the series '' Tenuifoliae'' of the genus. 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 ho ...

herbaceous

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 ...

, from China. It has grey green leaves, a very short stem and 1–2 blue or violet flowers.

Description

''Iris qinghainica'' has a knobbly rhizome. On top of the rhizome are maroon-brown, fibrous (or straw-like), remnants (of last seasons leaves), as sheaths (of the new leaves). It has linear, narrow, greyish green leaves, that are between long and between 2–3 mm wide. They have no obvious veining and end in a sharp point (acuminate). It has a very short flower stem, that often does not emerge from the ground. Overall, (stem and flower) the flower can reach up to long. It has 3 green, lanceolate, between long and between 0.6 and 1.8 cm wide,

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s (leaves of the flower bud). The stems hold between 1 and 2, terminal (top of stem) flowers, blooming between June and July. The flowers are in diameter, and are in shades of blue or violet. It has two pairs of petals, three large sepals (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 falls are narrowly oblanceolate (top wider than the bottom), long and 5 – 8 mm wide. They have a small white signal patch. The standards are also narrowly oblanceolate, but much smaller, only 3 cm long and 4 mm wide. It has a filiform (thread-like) long, perianth tube. Also, 1.8 – 2 cm long stamens, 1.5 cm long ovary and triangular-like, style branches that are 2.5 cm long and 3 mm wide. They are the same shade of colour as the petals. After the iris has flowered, it produces a seed capsule (not described) between June and August.

Taxonomy

It is written as 青海鸢尾 in

Chinese script Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

and known as ''qing hai yuan wei'' in

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

Chinese. It has the common name of 'Qinghai Iris'. The Latin specific epithet ''qinghainica'' refers to the

Chinese provinces The provincial level administrative divisions () are the highest-level administrative divisions of China. There are 34 such divisions claimed by the People's Republic of China, classified as 23 provinces (), five autonomous regions, four munic ...

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

, in the northwest of the country of China. It was published by and described by Yu Tang Zhao in '' Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica'' (of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) Vol.18, Issue 1 page 55 in 1980. It was verified by

United States Department of Agriculture 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 ...

Agricultural Research Service on 4 April 2003. As of January 2015, it is listed as ''unchecked'' by the RHS.

Distribution

''Iris qinghainica'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to China, in the

of Gansu and

. It is found in grasslands and meadows, on mountain slopes, and on loess hills. It is 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 ...

habitats, at

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

s of between 2500 and 3100 m above sea level.

Cultivation

''Iris qinghainica'' is not common in cultivation in the UK. It needs the protection of

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 ...

s during the winter, protecting it from the winter wet. It only needs water during the growing season.

Uses

In ''Chinese Materia Medica'', it is noted that the seeds of ''Iris qinghainica'' are used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The seeds are harvested between July and August. The husk is removed with any other impurities and then dried. The seeds taste bitter or slightly sweet. They are taken as an oral dose. 3–9 g of powder or a

decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. Dec ...

. It is used to treat

roundworm The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a bro ...

(as an

anthelmintic Anthelmintics or antihelminthics are a group of antiparasitic drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body by either stunning or killing them and without causing significant damage to the host. They may ...

pinworm Pinworm infection (threadworm infection in the UK), also known as enterobiasis, is a human parasitic disease caused by the pinworm. The most common symptom is itching in the anal area. The period of time from swallowing eggs to the appearanc ...

(or threadworm),

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...

and food poisoning.

References

Other sources

*Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 201. *Waddick, J. W. & Zhao Yu-tang. 1992. Iris of China. *Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994–. Flora of China (English edition).

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15227550 qinghainica Endemic flora of China Flora of Gansu Flora of Qinghai Garden plants of Asia Plants described in 1980 Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine