■ (SPEC) Iris wattii Baker

1892, Botanical author Baker

_Iris wattii_ Baker ( John Gilbert Baker, 1892, Himalayas & China); Subgenus Limniris, Section Lophiris. Ev. Color Code-B1L; 25-50" (100-200 cm) Light blue self;

See below:

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

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References:

Baker's original description in 'Handbook of the Irideae' 17. 1892 gives the following description; "Leaves ensiform, 1 1/2 ft. long. 1 1/2 in. broad at the middle at the flowering season. Stem not overtopping the leaves, bearing 5-6 heads on erecto-patent peduncles in a regular raceme. Spathes 2-3 flowered; outer valve thin, green, lanceolate-acuminate, 2 in. long; the next much shorter; pedicels about an inch long, articulated at the apex. Perianth-tube indibuliform, 1/2 in. long; limb pale lavender-blue; falls with an obovate blade 3/4 in broad, as long as the haft, spotted and striped with dark purple and at the throat with yellow, apparently not crested (probably being described from a dried, pressed specimen); standards rather shorter, oblong-unguiculaste, 1.2 in. broad. Style-branches an inch long; crests deltoid, deeply laciniated. Capsule small, oblong, obtusely trigonous. Hab. Manipur; summit of Kongui Hill, alt. 6,000 ft.. Watt 6337. Habit of tectorum".
Berry 1927; 1938; Van T. 1932;
B. B. Chimphamba, Cytogenetic Studies in the Genus Iris: Subsection Evansia, Benth, CYTOLOGIA, 1973, Volume 38, Issue 3, Pages 501-514, Released on J-STAGE March 19, 2009, Online ISSN 1348-7019, Print ISSN 0011-4545, https://doi.org/10.1508/cytologia.38.501, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/cytologia1929/38/3/38_3_501/_article/-char/en, Abstract: The karyotype analyses of the Evansia species did not suggest any simple explanation for the origin of the progressional series of chromosome numbers of 2n=26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 42, 44 and 54. A comparison of the karyotypes of geographically adjacent species showed that an increase in chromosome number was accompanied by a decrease in chromosome size. Karyotype differnces did not always suggest lack of affinity between species as was shown between I. japonica and I. confusa which formed fertile hybrids although their karyotypes were very different. The hybrids between I. japonica and I. confusa vary in their chromosome numbers from 2n=39 to 2n=43. The karyotypes of I. wattii and I. confusa showed greater similarities, a correspondence paralleled by their successful hybridization to form F1 hybrids. I. wattii could represent a subspecies of I. confusa. Meiotic divisions in the available clones of I. wattii and I. japonica showed that these 2 species were atypical in that the latter was possibly a triploid and the former the product of a chromosomal interchange.
The Gardeners' Chronicle 3rd Ser. 97: 411. 22 June 1935, illustrated; 413. 4 Dec., & 432. 11 Dec. 1937;
A.M., R.H.S. 1938; Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 63: 6, 292. June 1938 (shown by Lord Aberconway);
Considered in 1939 checklist as "a form of Iris milesii; mixed with Iris confusa;
Fig. 25. Waddick & Zhao, Iris of China, 1992, illustrated in color.

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Chromosome Counts:

2n=30, Simonet, 1934; 2n=30, Lenz, 1959; 2n=30, Chimphamba, 1973. ----

Variations

Registered as cultivar 'Wattii'.

Iris wattii cultivars: 'Biswat', 'Isis', 'Johnston clone', 'Sylvia', 'The Ellis Wattii', 'Trengwainton', 'Ward's Form', 'Wattii Alba', ----

Hybrids

Iris wattii crosses 'Bourne Noble', 'False Isis', 'Grazyna', 'Queens Grace', 'Question Mark', 'Tengchong Lace', 'Tenchong Princess', 'The Ridges',

¼ Iris wattii crosses 'Darjeeling, 'Pufflet'.

Advanced Iris wattii crosses 'Beauty Crest'. ----

Distribution & Cultivation

Assam to China (Yunnan)

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-- BobPries - 2010-02-24