Iris purdyi |
Iris versicolor |
|
---|---|---|
Purdy's iris, redwood iris |
blue flag, blue iris, harlequin blueflag, iris versicolore |
|
Rhizomes | much branched, forming dense clumps, dark red-brown, very slender, 0.3–0.6 cm diam., covered with remains of old leaves; roots fibrous. |
pale pinkish white, freely branching, forming large clumps, 1–2.5 cm diam., clothed with remnants of old leaves; roots fleshy. |
Stems | simple, solid, 1.5–2.5 dm. |
1–2-branched, solid, 2–6 dm. |
Leaves | basal few, laxly spreading, longer than stem, blade bright dark green adaxially, flushed pink basally, veins subprominent, linear, 2.8–4.8 dm × 0.5–0.8 cm, rather glaucous abaxially, margins thickened, apex acute; cauline imbricated, sheathing, free only at tips, bracteiform, blade green edged with pink, strongly striate, inflated, apex acuminate. |
basal with blade green to grayish green, often purplish basally, centrally thickened in mature leaves, prominently veined, narrowly ensiform, 1–8 dm × 1–3 cm; cauline 1–2, blade linear-lanceolate, seldom equaling stem. |
Inflorescences/ |
1–2-flowered; spathes green with prominent red margins, inflated, broadly lanceolate-ovate, 5.6–7 cm × 8–13 mm, unequal, outer shorter than inner, herbaceous, apex acuminate. |
compact, units 2–4-flowered; spathes never foliaceous, 3–6 cm, unequal, outer shorter than inner, thickly chartaceous to scarious, margins shiny, darker in color. |
Flowers | perianth pale creamy yellow flushed with pale lavender, with conspicuous brownish purple lines; floral tube linear, 3–5 cm, somewhat dilated apically; sepals widely spreading, veined and dotted with deeper purple on claw and limb, oblanceolate, 5.5–8.4 × 1.6–2.7 cm; petals spreading, lanceolate, 5–7 × 1–2 cm, margins sinuate; ovary trigonal in cross section with groove along each angle, narrow, 1–1.5 cm; style 2–3 cm, crests narrowly semiovate or nearly linear, laciniate, 1–2 cm; stigmas rounded-truncate to 2-lobed, never triangular, margins minutely denticulate; pedicel 1–2 cm. |
perianth violet-blue to rarely white; floral tube funnelform, constricted above ovary, 1–1.2 cm; sepals ovate to reniform, 4–7.2 × 1.8–4 cm, base abruptly attenuate, signal a pubescent, greenish or greenish yellow patch surrounded by heavily veined purple on white at base of blade; petals lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 2–5 × 0.5–2 cm, much shorter than sepals, firm, apex rarely emarginate; ovary rounded-triangular in cross section, somewhat inflated, 0.8–2 cm; style 3–3.5 cm, base not auriculate, margins entire or toothed, crests reflexed, 0.7–1.5 cm; stigmas unlobed, triangular or rounded-triangular, margins entire; pedicel 2–8 cm, frequently exceeding spathe. |
Capsules | oblong-ovoid, trigonal, somewhat beaked, 2–3 cm. |
often persistent over winter, ovoid to oblong-ellipsoid, conspicuously beaked, obtusely triangular in cross section, 1.5–6 cm, tardily dehiscent. |
Seeds | light brown, D-shaped, oblong-ovoid, thick, finely wrinkled. |
dark brown, D-shaped, 5–8 mm, shiny, thin, hard, regularly pebbled, not corky. |
2n | = 40. |
= 108. |
Iris purdyi |
Iris versicolor |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | Open woods of redwood region | Marshy places, along roadsides, shores, and along mountains |
Distribution |
CA
|
CT; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; VA; VT; WI; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC
|
Discussion | Iris purdyi hybridizes with I. bracteata, I. chrysophylla, I. douglasiana, I. innominata, I. macrosiphon, I. tenax, and I. tenuissima. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
E. Anderson (1936) showed rather conclusively that Iris versicolor arose as an amphidiploid between I. virginica (n = 35) and I. hookeri (I. setosa var. canadensis) (n = 19). Back-cross hybrids have been produced both ways: I. virginica × I. versicolor producing Iris ×robusta E. S. Anderson, and I. versicolor × I. hookeri producing I. ×sancti-cyri J. Rousseau. Iris versicolor is becoming a weed in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Livestock will not eat iris foliage, but feed voraciously on the competition, thus giving the irises plenty of room to expand. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 385. | FNA vol. 26, p. 390. |
Parent taxa | Iridaceae > Iris > subg. Limniris > sect. Limniris > ser. Californicae | Iridaceae > Iris > subg. Limniris > sect. Limniris > ser. Laevigatae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | I. lansdaleana, I. macrosiphon var. purdyi | |
Name authority | Eastwood: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 3, 1: 78, plate 7, fig. 2. (1897) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 39. (1753) |
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