Iris hexagona
Iris pumila
Carolina iris, Dixie iris
dwarf iris
greenish with brown leaf scars, branching from older buds quite some distance proximal to apex, forming widely scattered colonies, 2–2.5 cm diam.
freely branching, producing dense clumps, 1–1.5 cm diam.
1–2-branched, solid, 3–9 dm.
absent or not more than 1 cm.
basal stiffly erect, blade yellow-green, lightly ribbed, 8–9 dm × 2–3 cm;
cauline 1–2, foliaceous, blade 1.2–2 dm, exceeding subtended flower.
ascending-spreading;
blade grayish green, ensiform or slightly falcate, 8–10 cm × 6–15 mm at anthesis, increasing to 15–20 cm in length on innovations after flowering, dying back in autumn, new growth only in spring, glaucous.
1–2-flowered, branch units 1-flowered;
spathes lanceolate, subequal or unequal, apex acute;
outer foliaceous, 15–20 cm, usually exceeding flower;
inner 8–10 cm, herbaceous, with scarious margins.
1-flowered, sessile in spathes;
spathes 5–10 cm;
outer darker green than inner, inner closely shielding floral tube.
perianth blue to violet, rarely white;
floral tube funnelform, grooved in line with grooves of ovary, 2–3 cm;
sepals spreading horizontally, obovate to oval, 8–8.5 × 4 cm, claw greenish with prominent yellow midrib which is pubescent on each side at base, apex rounded;
petals erect or spreading-erect, oblanceolate to spatulate, 7–9 × 2 cm, claw veined with green;
ovary roundly triangular in cross section, with wide grooves at angles and concave sides, 2–3 cm;
style convex laterally from central reddish ridge, 3.5–5 cm, narrower than claw of sepals, crests erect, overlapping, semiovate to triangular, 1–5 cm, margins coarsely toothed;
stigmas 2-lobed, lobes triangular or rounded-deltoid, margins entire;
pedicel 2.5–3.5 cm.
floral tube with 3 purple stripes in line with midrib of petals, slender, 6–10 cm × 2–3 mm, lifting expanded portion of flower out of spathes;
sepals yellow, blue, or purple, with yellowish or bluish beard, often with contrasting spot around beard at base of limb, 4–5 × 1.2–2 cm;
petals with darker veins near base, rounded-ovate, broader than sepals, 4–5 × 2.2–2.7 cm, narrowing abruptly to brown-veined claw, apex emarginate;
ovary rounded-trigonal, ca. 1 cm × 4–5 mm;
style crests triangular, margins serrate distally;
stigmas rounded on distal margin, margins entire;
pedicel absent.
hexagonal in cross section, with 3 alternate sides plane, others with 2 rounded ridges with shallow groove between them, 2.5–3.5 × 2–2.5 cm.
borne on tips of rhizomes at ground level or slightly below, rounded-trigonal, with short portion of dried floral tube forming tip, smooth, 2–3.5 × 1.5–2 cm, dehiscing while green.
in 2 rows per locule, light brown, D-shaped or irregularly rounded, 4–6 mm, corky.
usually in 2 rows per locule, light brown, subspherical, 3–5 mm diam., wrinkled.
= 44.
= 30, 31, 32, 36.
Iris hexagona
Iris pumila
Iris hexagona is one of the rarest of all our native irises. We had seen herbarium specimens from seven localities in five counties of South Carolina. In searching for living plants at each of these sites we found that six of the seven are now under the water of Lake Moultrie. After extensive searching, one small population has been located at the other site, in a state park at Charleston, which is being watched carefully by the rangers of the park. A good-sized population has since been found in Dixie County, Florida, north of the small town of Shamrock, and another in neighboring Taylor County. These two populations are in the drainage system of Georgia, which in turn is fed by some of the streams from South Carolina. So far, though, I. hexagona has not been found in Georgia.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Iris pumila has been shown to be a natural amphidiploid hybrid between I. pseudopumila Boissier & Heldreich and I. attica Tineo, both 2n = 16. Like many other such hybrids, its range of variability is so extensive that many of its forms have been given specific names. In spite of the variability in color and size, it is now recognized as a distinct species. During the past 50 years, it has been crossed repeatedly with several other species, including I. germanica and its mixed progeny, and this has introduced patterns from the tall-bearded iris into the dwarfs, and vice versa. The ranges of flowering season and plant height are now almost continuous from one extreme to the other, and intermediate groups are now recognized.
Iris pumila is widely grown in gardens and often persists for years after cultivation around old dwellings and along roadsides. It is thus extremely difficult to document and map its spontaneous occurrence. Although most, if not all, of the modern dwarf irises are of hybrid parentage, a number of herbarium specimens from the nineteenth century seem to represent wild forms of I. pumila.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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