Iris giganticaerulea |
Iris sibirica |
|
---|---|---|
giant blue iris |
Siberian iris |
|
Rhizomes | green, extensively branched, forming large clumps, 2–4 cm diam., with pale leaf scars. |
compact, freely branching, forming dense clumps, 0.9–1.2 cm diam., covered with remnants of old leaves. |
Stems | 2–3-branched, solid, 10–15(–20+) dm. |
simple or 1–3-branched, hollow, 6–12 dm. |
Leaves | basal 4–6, erect, blade bright green, ensiform, 10–13 dm × 2–3 cm, apex slightly curved; cauline with blade foliaceous, appearing as elongated spathe, 5–6.5 dm × 2–3 cm, not exceeding flowers. |
dying back in winter, blade dark green, often tinged pink at base, 4–8 dm × 0.4–0.6 cm. |
Inflorescence units | 2–3-flowered, branch units 1–2-flowered; spathes tightly enclosing ovary and pedicel, 15–20 cm, subequal; outer narrowly lanceolate, keeled, margins pale, narrow, inner margins translucent, broad, scarious. |
3–5-flowered, lateral units 2–3-flowered; spathes brown, to 4 cm, narrow, papery, apex acute. |
Flowers | perianth blue or blue-purple; floral tube tubular-prismatic, 9-ribbed and -grooved, 4–5 cm; sepals blue or blue-purple with white streaks surrounding signal, oval to orbicular-oval, 9.5–11 × 4–5 cm, base abruptly attenuate into claw, apex obtusely angled, signal with raised, yellow, pubescent central ridge, claw green, striate, 4–4.5 × 1–1.2 cm; petals erect or spreading-erect, spatulate, 7–8.5 × 2–3 cm, base cuneate, apex emarginate; ovary bluntly 6-angled, 4–4.5 cm; style blue-violet, keeled, 3.5–4 cm, raised above sepals, crests recurved, 1.5–2 cm, margins sharply and irregularly serrate; stigmas 2-lobed with 2 triangular teeth; pedicel columnar, 3.5–5 cm. |
perianth light to dark blue-violet to white; floral tube with indistinct ribs, circular, ca. 1 cm; sepals flaring or curving downward apically, widely orbiculate, 5–7 × 2–2.5 cm, base abruptly attenuate into claw with two narrow flanges basally, signal white, semicircular, with dark violet veins basally; petals erect, narrowly elliptic-obovate, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–1.8 cm; ovary roundly triangular, spindle-shaped, 1.5–2 cm; style pale blue, bluntly keeled, 4–5 cm, crests overlapping, triangular, margins crenate; stigmas tonguelike projections, triangular; pedicel 1–15 cm, unequal, later flowers in each spathe with longer pedicel. |
Capsules | drooping, bright green, ellipsoid, hexagonal in cross section, with 6 broad, rounded lobes, 8–10 × 3 cm, indehiscent; after anthesis, flower stem elongates, arching downward to push capsule into water, where walls are broken down and as funiculus is broken, seed rises to surface. |
roundly triangular with low ridges at angles, 3–4.5 × 1–1.3 cm, smooth, apex with extremely short tip, opening only in upper 1/4–1/3 of capsule. |
Seeds | in 2 rows per locule, brown, D-shaped, 8–10 mm wide, very corky. |
in 2 rows per locule, dark brown, D-shaped, flattened, 5 × 3 mm, slightly roughened by small, rounded protuberances. |
2n | = 44. |
= 28. |
Iris giganticaerulea |
Iris sibirica |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | Shallow water or very wet roadside ditches | Widely cultivated, found along roadsides |
Distribution |
AL; LA; MS
|
CA; CT; MA; ME; NY; PA; VT; ON; expected elsewhere; Eurasia [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Many forms of Iris sibirica have been cultivated widely across North America, where it is quite hardy and persistent. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 26. | FNA vol. 26, p. 382. |
Parent taxa | Iridaceae > Iris > subg. Limniris > sect. Limniris > ser. Hexagonae | Iridaceae > Iris > subg. Limniris > sect. Limniris > ser. Sibirica |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | I. elephantina, I. hexagona var. giganticaerulea, I. miraculosa | |
Name authority | Small: Addisonia 14: 5, plate 451. (1929) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 39. (1753) |
Web links |