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Fam:   Iridaceae Lindl.
Genus:  Iris L.
English Name: The Genus Iris

Description:

Perennial grasses with thick, branched rhizome. The stem simple or branched. Leaves sword-or linear. Actinomorphic flowers, large, single or collected in several clusters, with stems or subsessile. At the base of flowers are bracts, usually elongated and pointed, sometimes BLISTER bulging with dorsal edge or rounded. Perianth composed of 6 like a small crowns leaflets, narrowed at the base in the claw and located in 2 rounds: 3 external curved downward, on the upper surface with a strip of quite fleshy cilia or without such internal 3 upright or curved inward. Stamens 3 located under stigmas. Pistil consists of 3 fruit leaf with lower triplicate wells ovary, short baluster and 3 leaf similar expanded stigmas. Fruit oblong, triplicate wells longitudinally bursting is many seeds box. Seeds flattened or nearly globular.

Table for determining the species 1    External perianth leaflets on its upper surface with long tinted cilia ………………...............................................................................……….. 5 1* External perianth leaflets on its upper surface without cilia .................................................................................................................................. 2 2  Yellow flowers, leaves broadly linear, up to 25 mm wide. Wholesale plant .......................................................................... 2. - I. pseudacorus L. 2* The flowers blue, purple or violet. Leaves narrowly linear, up to 10 mm wide ………..........................................................................……….. 3 3   Stem cylindrical, longer than the leaves. Rhizome densely covered with remnants of leaves. Bracts tunicates, brown. Fruit box at the top without small nose ……….................................................................................................................................................................................... 1. - I. sibirica L. 3* Stem flattened, shorter or equal to the leaves. Rhizome without leafy debris. Bracts herbaceous, only end tunicates ............................................. 4 4    Perianth tube funnel, shorter than ovar................................................................................................................................... 0.4.- I. graminea L. 4* Perianth tube about two times longer than the ovary .......................................................................................................... 3. - I. sintenisii Janka. 5    Plants with 1 - 3 flowers, arranged on top of the stem ....................................................................................................................................... 6 5 * Plants with many flowers, arranged along the stem ............................................................................................................................................ 8 6    Bracts on the back rounded edge without ................................................................................................................................... 5. - I. pumila L. 6 * Bracts with dorsal edge .................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 7 Okolotsvetnite tube at least three times longer than the ovary equal to or longer than Okolotsvetnite leaflets ............................. 6. - I. meilita Janka. 7* Perianth tube up to two times longer than the ovary and shorter than the perianth leaflets .......................................... .. 7. - I. reichenbachii Heuff. 8    Flowers white or only slightly pigeon ......................................................................................................................................... - I. florentina L. 8*  Flowers yellow, blue or violet ....................................................................................................................................................................... .. 9 9    Flowers yellow or yellow violet  ........................................................................................................................................... 8. - I. variegata L 9*  Flowers blue or violet .................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 10   Gray-green leaves. Perianth leaflets broadly ovate back. Bracts half dry leath .......................................................................... - I. germanica L. 10* Leaves grass green. Perianth leaflets close back ovoid. Bracts herbaceous ......................…………... 8. I. variegata L. var. davidovii Radenk. ¹ Developed by J. Radenkova From „Флора на НР България”, том II, БАН, София, (1964)

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Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of 260–300[1][2] species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. Some authors state that the name refers to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species.[3] As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower.
The often-segregated, monotypic genera Belamcanda (blackberry lily, I. domestica), Hermodactylus (snake's head iris, I. tuberosa), and Pardanthopsis (vesper iris, I. dichotoma) are currently included in Iris.
Three Iris varieties are used in the Iris flower data set outlined by Ronald Fisher in his 1936 paper The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems as an example of linear discriminant analysis.[4]

Description

Irises are perennial plants, growing from creeping rhizomes (rhizomatous irises) or, in drier climates, from bulbs (bulbous irises). They have long, erect flowering stems which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. The rhizomatous species usually have 3–10 basal sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. The bulbous species have cylindrical, basal leaves.

Flower

The inflorescences are in the shape of a fan and contain one or more symmetrical six-lobed flowers. These grow on a pedicel or peduncle. The three sepals, which are usually spreading or droop downwards, are referred to as "falls". They expand from their narrow base (the "claw" or "haft"[5] ), into a broader expanded portion ("limb" or "blade"[6]) and can be adorned with veining, lines or dots. In the centre of the blade, some of the rhizomatous irises have a "beard" (a tuft of short upright extensions growing in its midline),.[7] which are the plants filaments.[8]
The three, sometimes reduced, petals stand upright, partly behind the sepal bases. They are called "standards". Some smaller iris species have all six lobes pointing straight outwards, but generally limb and standards differ markedly in appearance. They are united at their base into a floral tube that lies above the ovary (known as an epigynous or inferior ovary). The styles divide towards the apex into petaloid branches; this is significant in pollination.
The iris flower is of interest as an example of the relation between flowering plants and pollinating insects. The shape of the flower and the position of the pollen-receiving and stigmatic surfaces on the outer petals form a landing-stage for a flying insect, which in probing for nectar, will first come into contact with the perianth, then with the stigmatic stamens in one whorled surface which is borne on an ovary formed of three carpels. The shelf-like transverse projection on the inner whorled underside of the stamens is beneath the overarching style arm below the stigma, so that the insect comes in contact with its pollen-covered surface only after passing the stigma; in backing out of the flower it will come in contact only with the non-receptive lower face of the stigma. Thus, an insect bearing pollen from one flower will, in entering a second, deposit the pollen on the stigma; in backing out of a flower, the pollen which it bears will not be rubbed off on the stigma of the same flower.[9]
The iris fruit is a capsule which opens up in three parts to reveal the numerous seeds within. In some species, the seeds bear an aril.

Taxonomy

Iris is the largest genus of the family Iridaceae with up to 300 species – many of them natural hybrids.[10] Modern classifications, starting with Dykes (1913), have subdivided them. Dykes referred to the major subgroupings as sections. Subsequent authors such as Lawrence (1953) and Rodionenko (1987) have generally called them subgenera, while essentially retaining Dykes' groupings, using six subgenera further divided into twelve sections. Of these, section Limneris (subgenus Limneris) was further divided into sixteen series. Like some older sources, Rodionenko moved some of the bulbous subgenera (Xiphium, Scorpiris and Hermodactyloides) into separate genera (Xiphion, Juno and Iridodictyum respectively), but this has not been accepted by later writers such as Mathew (1989), although the latter kept Hermodactylus as a distinct genus, to include Hermodactylus tuberosus, now returned to Hermodactyloides as Iris tuberosa.[10]
Rodionenko also reduced the number of sections in subgenus Iris, from six to two, depending on the presence (Hexapogon) or absence (Iris) of arils on the seeds, referred to as arilate or nonarilate. Taylor (1976) provides arguments for not including all arilate species in Hexapogon.[10]
In general, modern classifications usually recognise six subgenera, of which five are restricted to the Old World; the sixth (subgenus Limniris) has a Holarctic distribution. The two largest subgenera are further divided into sections.

Distribution and habitat

Nearly all species are found in temperate Northern hemisphere zones, from Europe to Asia and across North America. Although diverse in ecology, Iris is predominantly found in dry, semi-desert, or colder rocky mountainous areas,[10] other habitats include grassy slopes, meadowlands, bogs and riverbanks.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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References: „Флора на НР България”, том II, БАН, София, (1964), Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Distribution in Bulgaria: (Conspectus of the Bulgarian Vascular Flora) = conspectus&gs_l= Zlc.
Distribution:

SPECIES:

Iris germanica L. - The Bearded iris, the German iris

Iris graminea L. - Grass-Leaved Flag, Grass leaved Iris, Plum Iris and Plum tart Iris

Iris pseudacorus L. - Yellow flag, Yellow iris, Water flag, Lever

Iris pumila L. - Pygmy iris

Iris reichenbachii Heuff. - х   х   х

Iris sintenisii Janka - Sintenisa Iris

 

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