Note: This Key is being developed further than Dykes original key. Annotations that were not his are in parentheses. Dyke's original 100 year-old work contained only about half the species we know today. This dichotomous key gives you an A or B choice. By clicking on one or the other the next step appears at the very top of your page.
Subgenus Nepalensis | Subgenus Nepalensis | Subgenus Iris | Subgenus Iris | Subgenus Limniris | Subgenus Limniris |
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(A) Rootstock a simple bulb without persistent roots 2. or
Subgenus Hermodactyloides Smaller Bulbous Irises | Subgenus Hermodactyloides Smaller Bulbous Irises | Subgenus Xiphium Larger Bulbous Irises | Subgenus Xiphium Larger Bulbous Irises |
(B) Rootstock a bulb with fleshy roots persisting in the resting season.... The Juno Section
Junos, (Subgenus Scorpiris) | Junos, (Subgenus Scorpiris) |
Subgenus Xiphium Larger Bulbous Irises | Subgenus Xiphium Larger Bulbous Irises |
Subgenus Hermodactyloides Smaller Bulbous Irises | Subgenus Hermodactyloides Smaller Bulbous Irises |
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Alata | Alata | Palaestina | Palaestina |
Persica | Persica |
Alata | Alata |
Palaestina | Palaestina |
Tubergeniana | Tubergeniana | Tubergeniana | Tubergeniana |
Aucheri | Aucheri | Aucheri | Aucheri |
Aitchisonii | Aitchisonii | Aitchisonii | Aitchisonii |
Willmottiana | Willmottiana | Willmottiana |
Caucasica | Caucasica | Caucasica |
Stocksii | Stocksii | Stocksii | Stocksii |
Fosteriana | Fosteriana | Fosteriana |
Bucharica | Bucharica | Bucharica | Bucharica |
Warleyensis | Warleyensis | Warleyensis | Warleyensis |
Albomarginata | Albomarginata | Albomarginata |
Rosenbachiana | Rosenbachiana | Rosenbachiana | Rosenbachiana |
Linifolia.............. |
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Latifolia.............. | Latifolia.............. | Latifolia.............. | Latifolia.............. |
The species may be separated as follows;
(A) Outer segments (falls) with a short broad triangular haft and a nearly orbicular blade. ........................... Iris xiphioides now I. latifolia
(A) Perianth tube very short, broad................................................ Iris xiphium
(A) The outer tunics of the bulbs thick and leathery............................ Iris juncea
(A) Outer segments (falls) bearded..................................................... Iris boissieri
(A) The inner segments (standards) obtuse, rounded. ................................... Iris filifolia
(B) The inner segments (standards) lanceolate, pointed.................................. Iris tingitana __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(A) Rootstock a corm with shaggy, netted coats...... The Gynandriris Sectiom
MoraeaSisyrinchium> | MoraeaSisyrinchium> | MoraeaSisyrinchium> | GynandririsIris | MoraeaSisyrinchium> |
(B) Rootstock neither a bulb or a corm.
(A) Rootstock a minute flattened rhizome, hardly more that a growing point, surrounded by a thick mass of fibers and having a number of fleshy persistent roots attached to its base. ..... The Nepalensis Section
(B) Rootstock a rhizome.
(A) Outer segments (falls) crested...................The Evansia Section
(B) Outer segments (falls) not crested
(A) Outer segments (falls) bearded with multicellular hairs
(B) Outer segments (falls) unbearded or with a pubescence of unicellular hairs.
(A) Seeds with a conspicuous, creamy-white, circular aril.
(B) Seeds without any conspicuous aril..........The Pogoniris Section ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dykes separated the members of this Section as follows
(A) Stem unbranched.
(B) Stem branched;
(A) Stem not produced or extremely short
(B) Stem produced.
(A) Rhizome not hidden in fibrous remains of old leaves........................................................................Iris pumila
(B) Rhizome entirely hidden in fibrous remains of old leaves
(A) Leaves tapering gradually to a point.........................................................................Iris tigridia
(B) Leaves blunt..............................................................................................................Iris potanini
(A) Spathes with both valves sharply keeled
(B) Spathes either not keeled or with only one valve slightly keeled
(A) Spathe valves narrow, lanceolate
(B) Spathe valves comparatively short and broad............................................................Iris reichenbachii
(A) Spathe valves persistently green, tube 2-3 inches long..............................................Iris mellita
(B) Spathe valves membranous, almost transparent, scarious at the tip, tube 1-1 1/2 inch long..................Iris scariosa
(A) Rhizome more or less stoloniferous; seeds with minute aril, leaves thin, narrow almost linear
(B) Rhizome more compact; seeds without any conspicuous aril, leave thicker, broader ensiform.
(A) Spathes narrow, membranous, young shoots green, growths separated by slender stolons........................Iris flavissima
(B) Spathes broader growth more compact
(A) Spathes broad for their length, distinctly veined and flushed with reddish brown............................Iris bloudowii
(B) Spathes not noticeably broad, green..........................................................................................Iris mandshurica
(A) Perianth tube twice as long as the ovary, spathes short. .......................................................Iris chamaeiris
(B) Perianth tube three or more times as long as the ovary
(A) Spathe valves wholly green..........................................................................................................Iris griffithii
(B) Spathe valves not wholly green
(A) Spathe valves linear, membranous................................................................................................Iris psuedopumila
(B) Spathe valves oval, green for the most part and only scarious in the upper half...........................Iris subbiflora
(A) Stem branching at the center or below, often at the very base: leaves dying entirely away before the winter................Iris aphylla
(B) Stem branching in the upper part.
(A) Spathe valves wholly scarious before the flowers expand
(B) Spathe valves not wholly scarious before the flowers expand
(A) Spathe valves silvery white, plant 2 feet or more high...............................Iris pallida
(B) Spathe valves pale brown, plants much shorter.........................................[[Spec.SpecCengialti][Iris cengialti)
(A) Spathe valves membranous, not scarious, much inflated
(B) Spathe valves green or partly scarious, not conspicuously inflated
(A) Outer segments (falls) strap-shaped, the haft bearing thick dark veins that end abruptly at a straight transverse line..........Iris alberti
(B) Outer segments (falls) more obovate, haft only slightly veined, plant dwarfer................................Iris imbricata
(A) Spathe valves wholly green, not scarious, when the first flowers expand.
(B) Spathe-valves partly green and partly scarious when the first flowers expand.
(A) Spathe-valves short and broad, somewhat inflated, leaves thin and distinctly ribbed, plant not more than 18 inches high.......Iris variegate
(B) Spathe-valves long and narrow, less inflated. leaves thicker and less distinctly ribbed, plant much sturdier and taller, 2-3 feet..............................Iris kashmiriana
Dykes's notes: "The remaining seven are extremely difficult and in some cases impossible to separate as herbarium specimens; some of them some of the them probably scarcely deserve specific rank
(A) Leaves short, glaucous, not growing to any extent until the winter is over, resembling those of I. pallida; Spathes pale green scarious in the upper part...............................................Iris junonia
(B) Leaves longer, beginning to grow in the autumn and attaining some length before winter.
(A) Spathe-valves narrow acuminate.
(B) Spathe-valves broader, more navicular.
(A) Spathe-valves almost wholly green, scarious only at the extreme edge and tip...........................Iris billiottii
(B) Spathe valves much flushed with purple, scarious in the upper third or half.................................Iris trojana
(A) Spathe-valves much flushed with purple, scarious in the upper half..............................................Iris germanica
(B) Spathe valves not flushed with purple
(A) Flowers nearly sessile on the comparatively short. thick stem..........................................................Iris albicans
(B) Flowers bourne on lateral branches, stem far overtopping the leaves
(A) Spathe-valves broad, membranous, only scarious in the upper third; leaves broad, tapering conspicuously above and below the middle...................................................................................................................................................Iris mesopotamica
(B) Spathe-valves broad, membranous, the outer valve nearly wholly scarious; leaves comparatively narrow for so large a plant and with parallel sides, not noticeably wider in the middle..................................................................................Iris cypriana
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(B) Aril not so conspicuous, much smaller than the seed; flowers appearing when the leaves are still quite short ....The Pseudoregelia Section
(A) Stem 1-headed, 1-flowered.............The Oncocyclus Section
(B) Stem 1-headed, 2-3 flowered............The Regelia Section ______________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dykes noted: "The members of the Oncocyclus section all agree in possessing:
1. Seeds with a large, creamy-white aril.
2. An unbranched stem, bearing a single flower
3. Green, narrow, unkeeled, almost tubular spathes
4. A tube slightly longer than the elongated tapering ovary.
The various species may be separated as follows;
(B) Plant stouter, leaves broader, stem usually at least a foot and sometimes two feet long.
(A) Outer segments short, narrow, strap-shaped, only a quarter or a third the width of the inner segments.................[[Spec.SpecParadoxa}[Iris paradoxa]]
(B) Outer segments more than half as large as the inner segments.
(A) Outer segments deflexed, concave on the upper surface.....................................Iris iberica
(B) Outer segments extended horizontally for at least half their length, convex on the upper surface.
(A) Flowers concolor, not conspicuously veined.
(B) Flowers conspicuously veined
(A) Flowers yellow or red-purple with a signal patch of a deeper shade of the same colour............Iris barnumae
(B) Flowers purple black with a yellow signal patch....................................................................Iris atropurpurea
(A) Veins thin leaving the ground colour clear and unobscured.
(B) Veins thick, diffuse, tending to obscure the ground colour.
(A) Segments tapering, falls extending horizontally.............................................Iris ewbankiana
(B) Segments tapering, falls reflexing beyond the middle....................................Iris acutiloba
(A) Segments broad standards orbicular...................................................Iris Sari
(B) Segments oblong, standards tapering..................................................Iris meda
The Palestine or Syrian group of closely allied forms, which can only be separated by their colour.
(A) Ground color of Standards and falls grey-white
(B) Ground color of Standards and falls silvery white, white or yellow
(B) Ground color white or silvery white
(A) Flower immense, of a pale grey, produced by delicate faint purplish veins on a silvery-white ground......Iris gatesii
(B) Standards faintly veined with pale violet on white, falls dotted and veined with crimson or red brown.......Iris lortettii
(A) Segments closely veined and dotted with deep violet black on a grey-white ground..........Iris Susiana
(B) Similar to D but less closely veined, so that the grey-white ground is much more conspicuous.......Iris sofarana
Standards veined and dotted with reddish black on grey, falls similar but with the ground colour almost entirely hidden. .---...Iris atrofusca ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(A) Rhizome comparatively compact,
(B) Rhizome wide-spreading by means of slender stolons, segments waved.......................................Iris stolonifera
(A) Leaves ensiform (Swordlike)
(B) Leaves linear, very narrow..............................................................................................Iris falcifolia
(A) Blade of falls narrowing suddenly to an oblong haft.........................Iris korolkowii
(B) Blade of falls tapering to a point above and narrowing gradually into the haft..................Iris darwasica __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The members of this section can be separated as follows:
(A) Stem not produced or extremely short: tube long.......................................................Iris kumaonensis
(B) Stem produced.
(A) Spathes one flowered: plants very slender...............................................................Iris goniocarpa
(B) Spathes two flowered: plants stouter
(A) Tube short under 1 inch long................................................................................Iris hookeriana
(B) Tube long, 1 1/2 to 2 inches..................................................................................Iris sikkimensis ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________-
(A) Inflorescence a regular raceme, seeds conspicuously winged: flowers fugitive and twisting spirally as they wither. The Pardanthopsis Section.
(B) Inflorescence not a regular raceme, seeds not conspicuously winged. The Apogon Section ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dyke's Key notes; " There is only one known species of Iris that belongs to this section, which was so named by reason of the resemblance of I. dichotoma to Pardanthus (Belamcanda) Chinensis. See Hance in Journal Bot. XIII. (New Ser. IV.) p. 105 (1875)" ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dykes' Apogon Section is roughly synonymous with todays Section Limniris. He divided into 15 groups, about equivalent to today's Series but did not provide a key but simply a list of important characters. The key below is created based on those characters and sends you to the group, where he did provide a key to the species.
This section of the Iris genus has already been defined as containing all those species of rhizomatous Irises, in which the central line of the falls is either smooth or only covered with a pubescence of unicellular processes.
It seems, unfortunately, impossible to select any one character or set of characters to form a guide through the maze of species. The nearest approach to such a character is found in the seeds, but besides the fact that these are often missing in herbarium specimens, those of a few species, such as Bungei and Rossii, are still undescribed. Moreover the seeds of the species in each group are readily distinguishable and have only a certain family likeness, which indeed in some cases is only apparent to the practiced eye.
The classification classification of the Apogon species given below is therefore admittedly unsatisfactory , partly for the reasons already given, and partly also because some of the species seem to stand by themselves and to have little affinity to any others. Under each heading is the following list an attempt is made to give the chief characteristics of the species included.
Created key to groups!
(B) Not as above.
(A) Flowers purple............................................................................Iris masia
(B) Flowers yellow
(A) Flowers greenish yellow, the falls curiously fringed with irregular linear black purple dots
(B) Flowers bright yellow, with four or five large linear black dots scattered irregularly over the blade of the falls............Iris melanosticta
(A) The fibrous remains of old leaves on the rootstocks are perhaps slightly less rigid...............Iris aschersoni
(B) The fibrous remains of old leaves on the rootstocks are perhaps slightly more rigid..............Iris Grant-Duffi
(A) Scarlet seeds remaining attached in the opened capsule...... Group VI Varieties with white , yellow or orange seeds exist but all are conspicuous.
(B) Seeds and capsule not as above. Seeds usually tan brown or black and not conspicuous in an open capsule
The single character of the scarlet seeds, that remain attached to the open capsule seems sufficient to separate I. foetidissmafrom all other species confined to Europe and North Africa. The only other Iris in which seeds remain attached after the pod has opened is Iris domestica but these are shiny and black giving it the common name blackberry lily.
(B) The inner perianth segments larger than mere bristles
It is of course an exaggeration to say that the two species that form this group have only three perianth segments. The three inner segments are also present, but in greatly reduced form. Indeed it is not always easy to detect the small bristle like projections to which the standards are reduced. This phenomemum is known to occur in one other Iris, and that is I. danfordiae a bulbous species.
The species may be distinguished as follows;
(A) Leaves ensiform; spathes sometimes partly scarious in the upper part, flimsy, capsule trigonal; seeds oval, rounded with a conspicuous raphe running down one side. ....................................Iris setosa
(B) Leaves linear; spathes wholly green at flowering time; rigid, capsule rounded seeds compressed, disc-shaped........Iris tripetala
(B) Capsules without 6 ribs, usually 3 ribs or rounded.
(A) Capsule with roughly equally spaced ribs
(B) Capsules with a double rib at the angles of the capsule.... Group IX the Spuria Group
(B) Capsules with a single rib or no rib at the angles of the capsule or capsule rounded.
The chief characteristics of this group are the double ribs at the angles of the capsules, the loose parchment-like skins of the seeds, the two-toothed stigma, and the panduriform outer segments. Leaves ensiform, tough, emitting a slightly fetid odour when bruised. Its representatives are widely distributed through Europe and Asia as far East as Kashmir.
(A) Flower stalk not produced........... Iris humilis, today's synonym Iris pontica
(A) Stem producing one or more lateral heads of flowers.......... Iris Spuria & its subspecies
(B) Stem only producing a single terminal head of flowers
(A)
(B)
(A) Stem flattened with distinct lateral flanges........... Iris Graminea
(B) Stem round or very slightly flattened
(A) Spathe valves sharply keeled............. Iris sintenisii
(B) Spathe valves rounded, not sharply keeled.............. Iris kerneriana
(A) Flowers set in the axils of the leaves
(B) Flowers not set in the axils of the leaves
(A) Long narrow leaves and broad, truncated and deeply emarginated standards, which are nearly as broad as the falls.....Iris fulva
(B) Iris hexagona and Iris foliosa are possibly indistinguishable as herbarium specimens. The typical I. foliosa is a very dwarf plant with a short stem hidden among the leaves. On the other hand, there seems to exist a whole series of forms growing gradually taller until we reach the large proportions of typical I. hexagona. As garden plants, the difference is more apparent, for the leaves of
(A) XII. Iris Ensata Group.Ovary six grooved, passing almost imperceptibly into the pedicel, tube very short, Capsule long, narrow, almost spherical in cross section, with six ribs at equal intervals. Seeds smooth, pyriform or slightly compressed, Leaves narrow, linear ensiform. An Asiatic species...Iris ensata (now changed to Iris lactea)
(B) XIII Iris Longipetala Group. The plants resemble I. ensata (now I. lactea) in the characters of the rootstock and foliage. the seeds are somewhat similar, but distinctly larger and not compressed. The capsules are broad at the center and taper ar either end. The group is confined to the Rocky Mountains and to the region lying between that range and the Pacific
(A) Leaves with a corkscrew twist................................. var. chinensis
(A) Falls obovate, Flowers much larger.............................[[Spec.SpecLacteaGrandiflora][ var. Grandiflora (oxypetala)
(B) Falls oblanceolate, Flowers smaller............................ typical I. lactea
Dykes separated the three plants in his group as follows:
(A) mature leaves as long or longer than the stem.
(B) Mature leaves shorter than the stem, plant slender, spathes many flowered, pedicels long standards blunt emarginated.........Iris missouriensis
(A) Plant sturdy, spathes many flowered, pedicels long, standards blunt emarginated.........Iris longipetala
(B) Spathes usually only two-flowered, pedicels short, standards oblanceolate pointed.......Iris Montana
(A) XV. Iris Verna; This anomalous species is best described by saying that it has the appearance and habit of a small Iris pumila (under eight inches) but has not the multicellular beard, which would obtain it admission for the Pogoniris section, although sometimes referred to as having a beard, this is only a golden pubescence of unicellular hairs.......Iris verna
(B) Not as above, not Iris verna;
(A) VIII. Iris unguicularis: distinguished from other known species by the extremely long and slender perianth tube and by the curious processes which cover the style branches and give them the appearance of being sprinkled with gold dust. Under the microscope, however, we see transparent spheres poised on top of equally transparent blunt cones. At some point inside the sphere there is a mass of golden dust-like grains and it is to these masses that the colour is due............Iris unguicularis
(A) Seeds D-shaped
(B) Seeds not D-shaped, often pyriform, or globose, and angled
(A) Stems branched
(B) Stems unbranched
(A) Tube linear, at least 1/2 in long; spathe green.......................................................Iris douglasiana
(B) funnel-shaped, very short; spathes scarious .........................................................Iris tenuis
(A) Perianth tube short; funnel-shaped
(B) Perianth tube at least 1 in long, linear
(A) Stem clothed in short bract-like leaves; spathes broad.............................................Iris bracteata
(B) Stem bearing only 1-2 narrow leaves and spathes with narrow, often distant valves..............Iris tenax Dykes considered Iris hartwegii as probably only a local form of Iris tenax.
(A) Style branches longer that the crests
(B) Style branches equal to the crests......................................................Iris tenuissima
(A) Stem clothed in short inflated bracts.................................................Iris purdyi
(B) Stem bearing only 1-2 linear leaves...................................................Iris macrosiphon
(A) I. The sibirica group: has seven representatives in eastern Asia, one in Europe and one in American. Stems hollow (except in Iris clarkei and Iris prismatica; capsule trigonal, seeds D-shaped or cubical; leaves thin and grassy; perianth tube short, not smooth but obviously formed of the concretion of the bases of the segments. Stigma a projecting tongue.
(A) Stem hollow
(B) Stem not hollow
(A) Inner segments standards erect
(B) Inner segments standards extended obliquely
(A) Leaves glaucous on both sides
(B) leaves glossy on the upper surface and glaucous beneath.................................Iris forestii
(A) Pedicels of unequal length, some very long; seeds thin flat D-shaped; capsule short, globose............Iris sibirica
(B) Pedicels more nearly equal and shorter; seeds thick, cubical; capsules longer trigonal........................Iris orientalis now goes by sanguinea
(A) Foliage with glossy upper surface, glaucous beneath; seeds small, thick discs or D-shaped................Iris bulleyana
(B) Foliage glaucous on both sides
(A) Stems much longer than the leaves, seeds flat discs..............................................................................Iris delavayi
(B) Stems about equal to the leaves.
(A) Perianth tube short, pedicels very long, seeds small cubical....................................................................Iris wilsoni
(B)Perianth tube longer, pedicels shorter, seeds pyriform more or less compressed..................................Iris chrysographes
(A) Stem stout, straight; leaves with a glossy upper surface; seeds disc shaped with a wrinkled thickened flange; capsule trigonal............................Iris clarkei
(B) Stem slender, wiry, curiously bent; leaves glaucous on both sides, seeds pyriform, compressed with smooth skins and not flange, capsule acutely winged..................................................................................................................................Iris prismatica
(A) Leaves without any prominent central ridge.........................................Spec.SpecLaevigata
(B) Leaves with a prominent central ridge
(A) Standards nearly as long as the falls; flowers unveined...................................Iris kaempferi (now called I. ensata)
(B) Standards much shorter than the falls
(A) Standards narrow acuminate or spoon-shaped, usually less than half as long as the falls; flowers yellow or cream............Iris pseudacorus
(B) Standards broad, oblanceolate, at least half as long as the falls; flowers purple............Iris versicolor
(A) II The tenuifolia group; this group of Central Asiatic Irises consists of plants with short unbranched stem, and rigid leaves. The growths are very crowded and the bases of the leaves seem to persist for several years, and form dense bundles which in the wild state have the appearance of being either burnt or browsed off. The root fibres are very wiry. Dykes notes; I. songarica seems to be a connecting link between this group and the spuria group.
(B) Leaves not stiff and forming dense bundles at base.
(A) Spathes narrow, acuminate, membranous...........................................................................Iris tenuifolia
(B) Spathes broad, pointed, oval, rigid
(A) Spathes covered with a network of transverse fibres between the upright parallel................Iris ventricosa
(B) Spathes covered with upright parallel ribs with no network of transverse fibres. ...................Iris bungei
(A) VII Iris ruthenica with its grassy growth and prominent white excrescence on the fresh seeds seems also to stand entirely alone. This species is found in Hungary, in the Altai region, and thence eastwards as far as Pekin.
(B) V. The Chinese group consists of four species of slender growth, of which only one is in cultivation (in 1914). Iris minuta and Iris Henryi are probably allied to each other. The other two are grouped with them by reason of their geographical proximity and not of any known structural affinity.
(A) Rhizome very slender and wiry
(A) Pedicel short; tube about twice as long as the ovary........................................................Iris minuta
(B) Pedicel long; tube short equal to the ovary.......................................................................Iris Henryi
(A) Rhizome resembling that of I. ensata (now Iris lactea ) or spuria; stems produced in pairs from the center of a tuft of leaves; pedicels long, tube and ovary very short............................................................Iris griijsi
(B) Rhizome resembling that of ruthenica; leaves narrow, grassy, pedicel short; tube four or six times as long as the ovary......................................Iris rossi
-- BobPries - 2014-12-17