''Iris willmottiana'' is a 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 ...
'', in the subgenus
''Scorpiris''. 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 ...
, from Uzbekistan in central Asia. It has green broad leaves, short stems, large flowers in various shades of blue.
Description
''Iris willmottiana'' is very similar in form to that of ''
Iris caucasica''. Sharing similar size, shape, leaf margin but having smaller flowers.
[
It has thickened roots,][ and it has broad leaves that are glossy lustrous green, that appear in May.][ The leaves also have a thin white margin on the edges.][
It generally grows to a height of between tall,][ in late spring or early summer.][
It has between 2 - 6 flowers on a short stem.][ come in various shades of blue, from intense cobalt blue,][ pale lavender-blue,][ to light purple.][
The flowers are also blotched with white,][ and flecked with deep lavender-purple.][
The falls have a large white area and white crest or central ridge with purple marks.][ The standards are about 1.5 cm long.][
]
Taxonomy
It was collected from Bokhara
Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city h ...
in Eastern Turkestan
Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang.
Overview
Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...
in 1899, by a plant collector on behalf of the Van Tubergen nurseries in Haarlem, the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. It was then sent to Michael Foster[
It was later illustrated in colour 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 ...
, plate number 8340, in 1912.[
''Iris willmottiana'' is now an accepted name by the RHS, and 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 3 October 2014.
Native
''Iris willmottiana'' is from Central Asia and (the former Russian state),[ of ]Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.[ or ]Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
.[
It grows wild in the stony foothills of the Pamir mountain range,][ at around 2900m above sea level.][
It has been found in the Aksu Zhabagli,]Karatau Mountains
The Karatau or Qaratau ( kk, Қаратау жотасы, Qarataw jotasy) is a mountain range located in southern Kazakhstan.
The name Karatau means ''Black Mountain'' in the Kazakh language. The mountains have deposits of phosphorite, lead a ...
, in Kazakhstan.[
]
Cultivation
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.[James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) ]
Although the plant is quite hardy, in the UK, it is better cultivated in a 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 ...
.[ 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 ...
, but has been grown outside.[
It can produce hybrids very easy with '' Iris magnifica'' and '' Iris graeberiana''.][
]
References
Other sources
* British Iris Society, 1997, A Guide to Species Irises: Their Identification and Cultivation, page 275
* Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 143.
External links
Image from Species Iris Group of North AmericaPhoto on flickr
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15574407
willmottiana
Plants described in 1901
Flora of Central Asia
Flora of Kazakhstan