■ (SPEC) Iris juncea Poir.

1789, Botanical author Poiret

Iris juncea Poir. (Jean-Louis Marie Poiret, 1789, North Africa and Sicily); Subgenus Xiphium, Spanish Iris, Color Code Y4D; Voy. Barb. 2: tab. 85. 1789 illustrated;

See below:

• References
• Synonyms
• Variations
• Hybrids
• Distribution and Cultivation

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References

Iris juncea Poir., Voy. Barbarie 2: 85 (1789).
Desfontaines, Flora Atlantica I. p. 39, t.4 (1798): picture.
Dykes in The Genus Iris, 1913: Description. Rootstock , a bulb more globose than that of I. xiphium, wrapped in a number of somewhat thick and rigid smooth reddish brown tunics, which break up into stiff points at the top ( cf. Fig. 28). Leaves , slender, rushlike, 18-24 in. long, shooting in England in early autumn (October). Stem , about 12 in., bearing one or two flowers, the second raised on a longer pedicel. Spathe valves , lanceolate, narrow, scarious at the tips only, not quite so ventricose as in I. xiphium. 3-3½ in. long. Pedicel , short, about ¼ in., increasing to ½ in. and 1¼ in. at the fruiting stage. Ovary , triangular, with sides almost flat, not grooved as in I. xiphium. Tube , 'S!ender, 1½-2 in. long, triangular in section. Falls , of a deep yellow colour (except in the variety numidica or Mermieri which is of a paler shade), with a nearly orbicular or heart-shaped emarginate blade, separated by a slight constriction from the short haft. There are usually a few faint brown veins on the haft and lower part of the blade. 2¼ in. by 1¼ in. Standards , much shorter than the falls, oblanceolate, unguiculate, emarginate, spreading, not erect. 1¾ in. by ½ in. Styles , large and broad, 1½ in. long, acutely keeled. Crests , large, quadrate, with serrated upper edge reflexed. Stigma , bilobed with two pointed teeth. Filaments , deep yellow, equal in length to the anthers. Anthers , cream. Pollen , yellow. Capsule , 1½-3 in. long, rounded, trigonal, with deeply grooved sides so as to be nearly trefoil in section. Seeds , small, wedge-shaped or cubical, dark brown with small paler appendage. Observations. This fine Iris is very distinct in appearance and shape from all the other members of the Xiphion group. This arises from the fact that the substance of the blade of the falls is much thinner and more flimsy than that of the others. The large blades of the falls therefore hang perpendicularly and give the flowers a characteristic outline. I. juncea is also distinguished by the thick leathery texture of the outer tunics of the bulbs, which split up into fibres at the top (see Fig. 28). This Iris needs a warm position in well-drained soil that is kept dry in summer. Unless these conditions are provided, the bulbs do not get that summer ripening, which is essential to their wellbeing. This annual rest, if not obtained naturally, should be provided artificially by lifting the bulbs when the foliage withers, and storing them in dry sand for a month or two. Seedlings of this species appear to be more tender than those of any other species of Xiphium and are killed or injured by frosts that leave the others unharmed. They should therefore be grown either in a frame or in a position where they can be easily protected in bad weather.
Mem. Mat. Fis. Soc. Ital. Sc. 24: 1. tab. 1. 1848, illustrated in color; as Xiphion junceum;
J. D. Hooker in, Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Tab. 5890, 1871: picture which reads as follows; "A native of dry hills near the town of Algiers, where it is a great ornament, and from whence bulbs were sent to the Royal Gardens by Madame Bodichon, which flowered in the open air in July, 1869. It is also a native of Tangiers in Morocco, of Genoa and Sicily. I have followed Mr. Baker, who has published a careful monograph of this genus, in separating Xiphion from Iris, chiefly on the ground of its totally different habit of growth; the true species of Iris having creeping root-stocks, those of Xiphion coated bulbs. Description. Bulb ovoid, one and a half to two inches long, covered with dark brown membranous coats that are produced into a torn tube surrounding the base of the stem. Stem erect, slender, rigid, flexuous, two-thirds to one and a half feet high. Leaves 5-6 on the stem, convolute at the base, terminating in a very slender rigid flat limb not one-twelth inch broad. Flowers solitary or two together, three inches in diameter, golden yellow, with brownish veins. Spathes two, ventricose, as long as or exceeding the perianth-tube, lanceolate, acute. Pedicel short, lengthening in front. Perianth-tube slender, one and a half inch long; outer segments with an obovate retuse limb as long as the cuneate claw; inner segments erect, spathulate-lanceolate, rather shorter than the outer. Stigmatic lobes broadly half-ovate, acute, as broad as the inner perianth segments."
The Garden, Dec. 10th, 1898 See Iris juncea picture. The beautiful plate of Iris juncea and its variety numidica which appeared in The Garden of December 10 should bring home to some the value of these flowers. I. juncea has with me the rather serious fault of making growth early and having its leaves injured by late frosts. From this cause I have lost it several times, and have finally given up growing it, as one cannot protect everything needing care at a season when these late frosts are most dangerous. Noone that has ever bloomed the Rush leaved ins is likely to forget the beauty of its flowers. - S. Arnott, Carsethorn. by Dumfries, N.B. Page 520,Dec. 21, 1898
Catalogs; Krelage 1875; 1913; Grull. 1907; 1911; Wallace 1913; 1934; Kopen. 1929; Stewart 1939;
B.C., R.H.S. 1877, shown by Elwes;

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Synonyms

Rush Iris; Diaphane stylosa, Salisb.; Iris imberbis, Asch. & Graebn.; Iris mauritanica, Ker-Gawl; Xiphium junceum, Parl.

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Variations

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Hybrids

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Distribution and Cultivation

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