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(SPEC) Iris pontica Zapalowicz

1906, Botanical author Zapalowicz

_Iris pontica_ Zapalowicz (Hugo Zapalowicz, 1906); Section Limniris, Series Spuriae; Height 4" (10 cm) bloom stalk; leaves 8-16" (20-40 cm); Comp. Fl. Galic. 1: 191. 1906; IK S. 4 (1906-10), D 68=humilis; Prodan, Bul. Grad. Muz. Cluj 15, 84. 1935;

Mathew in the 1995 Iris Yearbook gave the following description; "Iris pontica was described by Hugo Zapalowicz in his Conspectus Florae Galicae Criticus 1:1901-192 (1906); based on a collection from 'Delakeu ad Tyram (Dniestr), in districtu Bender Bessarabiae': this puts it in southern Moldavia, in the valley of the river Destr which flows into the Black Seaq near Odessa. One normally associates the epithet ponticus with the Turkish Pontus mountain range or the classical region known as Pontus in Northeastern Turkey but the Black Sea itself was known as Pontus Euxinus, so presumably Zapalowicz was thinking of this wider term when choosing the name for the Iris. There is no record of Iris pontica extending into Turkey, but it does occur in the subalpine regions of the Caucasus where it was described as I. humilus by M. Bieberstein in 1808. Although this would appear to be an earlier name for the plant, there is a nomenclatural problem in that humilis had been used for a dwarf yellow bearded iris of section Psammiris, so I. pontica does appear to be correct, with I. humils M. Bieb. as a synonym. Iris pontica is a clump-forming species, obviously related to I. sintenisii and graminea but very distinct. It is winter-deciduous but the slightly glaucous leaves grow up quickly in spring and are stiffly erect, only 2-5mm wide and up to 40 cm (16inches) long; there are 4-5 in each 'fan' and they have prominent ribs, particularly towards the base, giving them a very tough wiry texture. Flowering is normally in May in our garden in Surrey but it does vary considerably from year to year. The flowers are held singly just above ground level on stems only 1-4 cm long and are predominantly purple but the lower narrower part of the falls is white, conspicuously veined purple and provided with a yellowish-green central stripe; the bases of the falls, standards, and style branches are shaded bronzy-purple. The flower has a fairly long tube, which the Flora of the USSR gives as being variable from 2-5 cm long; my plant has a tube about 3 cm long, but this is one of those species where it is dificult to decide where the tube ends and the slender beaked portion of the ovary begins, so this may account for the wide range of tube lengthes recorded in literature. The blade of the falls is oblog-orbicular, narrowing abruptly to the very narrow claw (or haft) and, similarly, the lanceolate standards have a narrow claw; the claw of the falls is not conspicuously winged, as it is in graminea, although there is a definite widening towards the centre of the claw, so in this respect my description in The Iris (1981) was perhaps a little misleading in referring to the 'winged claw'. The whole spread of the flower from tip to tip of the falls is about 5-6 cm (2-3inches). Concerning the details of the stamens, the anthers are blue, and the pollen yellow but there is a descrepncy between the Flora of the USSR description and my plant in that in the former the filaments are said to be yellow whereas in mine they are definitely purple; just natural variation, maybe. Unfortunately I have not recorded whether the flower is scented; I assume that, at the time of flowering, I decided it was just too close to the ground for comfortable sniffing! To date, there have been no capsules; maybe the plant is self-sterile, but I have not tried hand pollination so lack of seeds may just be a result of uninterested insects; so, more observations are required. The Flora of the USSR records that capsules are short and broad with 2-ribbed angles. With regard to cultivation, I find that this is a very tough little plant: it is growing in a north-facing slightly raised 'peat bed' (mainly leafmold and rotting wood) with ferns, dwarf rhododendrons, trilliums, erythroniums and Iris cristata; the last does very well, except in mild winters when the rhizomes tend to rot. I. sintenisii also does extremely well nearby. Although not nearly as free-flowering as its more robust relatives I. graminea and I. sintenisii, and the flowers tend to be hidden amongst the foliage, this is a fascinating little plant for iris enthusiasts. I wish that I could report on the reputedly similar but distinct I. ludwigii which inhabits gravelly steppes in the Altai mountains of southern Siberia but, as far as I am able to ascertain, the species has never been introduced into cultivation - having said that someone will write in to disagree; if so, please include a specimen as proof!"-

Synonyms: Iris humilis M. Bieb.; Iris marschalliana. in 1939 checklist as the formerly humilis. (Bieberstein, 1808, Caucasus); D-Spur-B2; Flor. Taur. Caucas. 1: 33. 1808; Bieb., Cent. Pl. Rar. 1: tab. 31. 1810, illustrated in color; Van H. 1887; 1908; Grull. 1907; syn. Lowly Iris; Iris alpina adultior Pallas; Iris humilis Alef.; Ioniris humilis Klatt; Iris pontica Zapal.

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