■(SPEC) Iris paradoxa Stev.

1817, Botanical author Steven

Iris paradoxa Steven ( Christian von Steven, 1817, Transcaucasia, Armenia, Northern Persia); Section Oncocyclus Color Code-S3D; Height 4-10" (10-25 cm). Described in Flora USSR: "Falls almost black violet, standards bright violet or dark violet blackish purple hairs."

See below:

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

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References:

Mem. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. 5: 355. 1817;
Gartenflora 12: 16. Tab. 386. 1863, illustrated in color.
Dykes in The Genus Iris, 1913 Description. Rootstock , a slender rhizome with crowded shoots. Leaves , dwarf, narrow, falcate, resembling those of I. iberica. Stem , 4-6 in. long, bearing a reduced leaf. Spathes , green, clasping the tube, 2 in. long, 1-flowered, somewhat inflated and very slightly tinged with purple at the extreme edge. Pedicel , very short. Ovary , trigonal, under an inch long, pointed at either end. Tube , 1/2-3/4 in. Falls , strap-shaped, extended horizontally with nearly parallel edges. The end is rounded and slightly emarginate. The groundwork is a pale crimson or light purple, almost completely covered along the centre with black-purple hairs, giving the whole surface the appearance of black velvet. At the edges there are thick black-purple veins. About half an inch from the upper end there is a narrow cross band of pale pinkish crimson, beyond which the ground colour is almost obscured by thick black-purple veins ; 2 in. long by ½-¾ broad. Standards . The orbicular blade narrows gradually to the short haft, which bears a number of blue or violet hairs. The bluish-white ground colour is closely veined with thick deep blue-violet veins and dotted with the same colour. Styles , of a brownish-yellow colour, closely covered with dark brown-purple spots arranged in lines. Crests , very small, with finely serrate edges. Stigma , entire, prominent, oblong. Filaments , tinged with purple. Anthers , cream. Pollen , cream. Capsule , 2 in., rounded trigonal, tapering gradually at either end. Seeds, globose with large creamy aril. Observations. This Iris was rightly named paradoxa, " the unexpected," for its standards are four times as wide as the falls, which look and feel like a narrow strip of black velvet. It is not a robust species nor is it at all easy to keep from year to year in England. It was partly for this reason that Foster crossed this Iris with several strong-growing Pogoniris, such as I. variegata and I. pallida. The result in each case was a plant midway between the two parents, less vigorous than the Pogoniris but yet able to grow on from year to year under ordinary cultivation. The feature of both Parvar (or Parsam, for Foster himself told me that he had forgotten exactly what Pogoniris he had used) and Parpall, which obviously resembles a pallida, is the broad velvety beard, which however is not quite so dense as that of I. paradoxa but allows the light ground colour to be seen.
The Garden. An illustrated weekly journal of horticulture in all its branches [ed. William Robinson], vol. 32: p.584, (1887)
Described by Baker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, table 7081, 1889 as follows: "This very curious iris has long been known in cultivation, but is still very rare. It closely resembles its better known neighbour Iris iberica in habit, leaves, and the inner segments of the perianth, which in both species vary in color from white to lilac; but the outer segments of the perianth are quite peculiar and different from that of any other iris in being reduced to a mere tip and narrow margin to the diffusely-bearded claw. All the species of the subgenus Oncocyclus are restricted to the arid regions of Western Asia, one or other of them extending all the way from the borders of Egypt northward to the Caucasus. Our drawing was made from a plant flowered by Mr. R. I. Lynch at the Cambridge Botanical Gardens last May. It also flowered at Kew at about the same time. *"Description:* Rootstock short. Produced leaves four or five, crowded at the base of the flowering stem, linear, glaucous, at most half a foot long. Flowering stem one-headed, terete, shorter than the leaves. Spathe-valves large, ventricose, oblong, greenish-white, withered at the tip at the flowering time. Pedicel and perianth-tube short; ovary cylindrical; outer segments of the perianth spreading horizontally, about an inch long, copiously veined with brownish-black on a pale brown groundwork, reduced to a mere tip and margin to the diffusely-bearded claw; inner segments of the perianth erect, large, lilac or white, obovate, narrowed suddenly to a short claw. Style-branches very convex on the back; apical crests small, deltoid. Anthers linear, longer than the filaments."
Krel. 1892; 1913; Van W. 1906; Hocker 1938;
F.C.C., R.H.S. 1900, shown by Van T.; Hort Dir. 42: 60. 1901;

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Synonyms.

Velvet Iris; Oncocyclus paradoxus Siemss. ----

Variations

Iris paradoxa cultivars include: 'Atrata', 'Choschab', 'Jolfa Form', 'Medwedewi', 'Mirabilis', 'Paradoxa', 'Paradoxa Albo-Lutescens', [[SpecParadoxaViolacea]'Paradoxa Violacea']]. ----

Hybrids

Iris paradoxa crosses:

Iris paradoxa crossed with *Section Iris (arilbreds):*

• Iris paradoxa X Iris pallida : 'Alkmene', 'Hamadan', 'Lady Lilford', 'Parpall'
• Iris paradoxa X tall bearded: 'Parsam'
• Iris paradoxa X Iris variegata : 'Parvar'
• Iris paradoxa and Iris variegata : 'Shadrach'

Iris paradoxa crossed with Section Oncocyclus :

• Iris paradoxa and Iris acutiloba : ''Zuvendicus'
• Iris camillae X Iris paradoxa: 'First Sergeant'
• Iris iberica X Iris paradoxa: 'Ib-Parad'
• Iris paradoxa X Iris iberica: 'Koenigii', 'Paradib'

Iris paradoxa crossed with Section Regelia :

• Iris paradoxa X Iris korolkowii : ''Parkor'
• Iris korolkowii X Iris paradoxa: 'Camilla', 'Clytemnestra', ';Sirona', 'Minerva',

¼ Iris paradoxa crosses 'Cactiforium', 'Charming Chick', 'Clotho', 'Dear Me', 'Don Ricardo', 'Emily Pyke', 'Regal Plus'. ----

Distribution & Cultivation

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