Difference: SpecAtropurpurea (r21 vs. r20)

■ (SPEC) Iris atropurpurea Baker

1889, Botanical author Baker

Iris atropurpurea Baker (John Gilbert Baker, 1889, Gaza & Negev, Israel); Section Oncocyclus; height 6-10" (15-25 cm). Very early bloom. Color Class R3D; Very dark or blackish purple; falls usually even darker than standards, short yellow beard hairs, signal blackish.

See below:

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

References

Baker in The Gardeners' Chronicle 1: 330. 1889;
Foster in The Garden, p.133, February 18, 1893 offers this *description":"This Iris, introduced into cultivation from Syria by Messrs. Dammann, may perhaps be considered as coming within an I. iberica group. The foliage is not unlike that of I. iberica, and the stem, though always of some length, never rises very high. The flower is somewhat small. The fall, narrow and ovate, bears on the claw and hind part of the blade a yellow patch, on which numerous, but scattered yellow hairs, tipped with dark purple or black. In front of this is a semicircular "signal" patch of almost black-purple, and the rest of the fall is a very dark purple, almost black, no distinct veins being discernable. The standard, larger and orbicular, is also of a deep black-purple, but on this veins of a still deeper color may be distinguished. The style is of a reddish purple-brown, with relatively small quadrate crests. Within the spathe valves a rudiment of a second flower may sometimes be seen. The plant varies somewhat, one variety being called by Messrs. Dammann 'Odysseus'.
Sapir, Shmida, Fragman and Comes. (2002) Morphological variation of the Oncocyclus Irises in the southern Levant. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 139: 369-382.
Gartenflora [E. von Regel], vol. 40: t. 1361 (1891)
Krel. 1892; 1913; Van T. 1900;
Dykes in The Genus Iris, 1913 notes:Description. Rootstock , a compact rhizome. Leaves , linear, falcate, slightly glaucous, about 6 in. long at flowering time. Stem , one-headed, about 6-8 in. in height, bearing about the centre a clasping leaf-like bract. Spathe valves , lanceolate, green, 3-4 in. long, rising far above the top of the tube, I -flowered. Pedicel , none. Ovary , light green, rounded trigonal, 3/4-1 in. long. Tube , 1¼ in. long, green with dark stripes in line with the standards. Falls . There is no constriction between the broad oblong haft and the slightly more oval blade, but the haft is suddenly constricted at its attachment to the tube. In colour the haft is veined with thick red purple veins which merge into the dark purple ground colour, while the blade is almost black with a rectangular greenish yellow signal patch, in front of which there is a semicircular velvety quite black patch. The diffuse beard consists of thick, scattered yellowish hairs tipped with purplish black. 2 in. by I½ in. Standards . Orbicular, with canaliculate unbearded haft, of a dark reddish purple with inconspicuous black veins, 3 in. by 2 in., but bearing no hairs. Styles , much arched laterally, keeled, mottled with dark reddish brown. Crests , quadrate, dark purple, edges finely serrate. Stigma , mottled with reddish brown, conspicuously notched. Filaments , yellow. Anthers , twice as long as the filaments, white. Pollen , Capsule , Seeds ,Observations.It will be convenient to discuss several other names together with that of I. atropurpurea, for there has arisen an unfortunate confusion in the nomenclature.If the view is accepted, which was put forward in the introduction to this section (p. 107), that several of these supposed species are really only differently coloured local races of the same species, it will be easy to understand how confusion may have arisen, seeing that colour is the only distinguishing feature and that this fades nearly entirely away after a few months or years in a herbarium.The question is further complicated by the fact that these plants were most of them introduced from Palestine and Syria by Messrs Dammann of Naples, whose assistants seem to have been in the habit of setting up for themselves and then importing plants from the same neighbourhoods. In this way confusions arose, which were unwittingly perpetuated by the Kew authorities to whom specimens were sent for determination and to be named. (The evidence is in Herb. Kew.)As far as I have been able to unravel the tangle, the truth of the matter seems to be as follows. In 1889 there were sent to Kew specimens of an Iris which Messrs Dammann had obtained from Syria in 1888. These were named by Baker I. atropurpurea (K) in Gard. Chron. 1889, I. p. 330. See also *Gartenflora, 1891, t. 1361. This Iris, which has somewhat small and narrow and often falcate leaves, is distinguished by its undotted flowers of a uniform black colour with a beard of dark purple black hairs, between which the yellow ground is apparent.In 1893 Messrs Herb and Wulle of Naples sent to Kew plants, which Baker described as I. atrofusca in Gard. Chron. 1893, I. p. 384.In the same year the same firm supplied to Gartenflora and to the Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ort. a double coloured plate containing an I. atrofusca Baker. There is also a photograph of the whole plant at p. 487 in that volume of Gartenflora.In Baker's original specimens enough colour still fortunately remains to show that the standards are coarsely veined and dotted with small purple blotchy spots. This fact and the above-mentioned figures and descriptions leave no doubt that the plant in question here is that which has been in cultivation for some years as I. Haynei.Whether the name is really applicable to this plant cannot be determined, for all we know of I. Haynei is that two specimens were collected by Hayne on Mt Gilboa in 1872 (K), and that the colour was originally "lilac-purple" (Baker, Gard. Chron. 1876, II. p. 710, Hdk. lrid. p. 19 (1892)). It is unfortunately no longer possible to see from the specimens (K) whether the flowers were dotted with purple or not.It should be noticed that in his article in Gartenflora, 1893, p. 486, Wulle mentions the existence of a poor dull-coloured form of I. atropurpurea, which some supposed to be Baker's I. atrofusca, and points out that the plants which he had sent to Baker were much finer and larger.In 1894 Messrs Dammann sent to Kew the plants which formed the subject of Bot. Mag. t. 7379.These are doubtless the poor form of I. atropurpurea, mentioned by Wulle. Baker recognised their affinity to that species and accordingly stated that he had come to consider I. atrofusca as a mere variety of I. atropurpurea, not apparently realising that the plants that he had originally received from Herb and Wulle and described as I. atrofusca were not the same as the later consignment from Messrs Dammann.The result of this somewhat intricate investigation is that we must attach the name of I. atrofusca to the plant well known in gardens now as I. Haynei, until we can ascertain whether this is really the Iris that grows on Mt Gilboa. If this proves to be the case, then Baker's name I. atrofusca of the Gard. Chron. becomes a synonym of I. Haynei and his I. atrofusca from the Bot. Mag. becomes recognised as a dull brownish-black variety of I. atropurpurea.I. atropurpurea must apparently be fairly closely allied to I. Barnumae from which it differs chiefly in the colour and in particular in the yellow patch that relieves in the intense black of the falls.
Yr. Bk., I.S.(E.) 42. 1933;
Amer. Col. 1933; 1939;
F.C.C., Amsterdam 1893;
Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ortic. 16: 144. tab. 5. 1891, illustrated; 209. tab. 7. 1893, illustrated in color;
From The Court Of Iris catalog, 1955: The standards are of a dark reddish-purple with black veins, while the falls are a uniform almost black tone. There is a greenish-yellow signal patch which is bordered velvety black while the beard is of scattered yellowish hairs. This one grows in the sandy lowlands near the coast where the annual rainfall is about twenty inches. Extra early bloom. 12-18". $1.50.

Synonyms

Black Purple Iris; Iris eggeri; (The name atropurpurea is sometimes misapplied to color forms of Iris pumila and Iris germanica). Registered as ':Atropurpurea Eggeri'. Sometimes confused with Iris atrofusca

Chromosome counts

2n=20-Simonet, 2n=20-Randolph & Mitra 1958, 2n=20-Avishai & Zohary 1980.

Variations

Iris atropurpurea Baker has the following botanical varieties: var. atropurpurea and var. eggeri Dinsmore
Iris atropurpurea cultivars: 'Atropurpurea Eggeri' 'Rachel'

Hybrids

Iris atropurpurea crosses:

• Iris atropurpurea X Iris lortetii: 'Ashkol'
• Iris atropurpurea X Iris hermona: 'Noga'
• ( Iris atropurpurea X Iris hermona) X self: 'Aviv', 'Leat'
• Iris mariae X Iris atropurpurea: 'Brown Prince', 'Spiced Coffee'.
• Oncocyclus Hybrid X Iris atropurpurea: 'Ebon'

Oncogelia hybrids: 'Ishii'

• Iris hoogiana X Iris atropurpurea: 'Persian Violet'
• Iris korolkowii X Iris atropurpurea: 'Charon', 'Isolda', 'Pollux', 'Thetis'

Arilbred X Iris atropurpurea: 'Copacabana', 'Tul Kerem'

¼ Iris atropurpurea crosses: 'Aril Classic', 'Aril Landmark', 'Aril Messenger', 'Aril Sanctum'??, 'Bagdad Gem', 'Copper Pond', 'Desert Shadow', 'Gan Eden'. 'Inbal', 'Mulberry Torch', 'Nigerian Night', 'Nomad's Child', 'Pleasure Ahead', 'Polished Brass', 'Pride Of Haifa', 'Prince Of Donegal', 'Prodigal Son', 'Rockeye', 'Sand Devil', 'Shany', 'Speckled Delight', 'Sultry Eyes', 'Zivan'

Distribution and Cultivation

Israel, coastal plains from Ashdod in the South to Atlit in the North. Endemic and vulnerable (Smida and Polak, 2008, the Red Data Book - the Rare and Endangered Plants of Israel.) For cultivation of Oncocyclus

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Interested in Iris Species? Please visit the: Species Iris Group of North America website.

-- Main.RPries - 2010-02-01

I	Attachment	Action	Size	Date	Who	Comment
jpg	I_atropurpureaYS.jpg	manage	65 K	15 Mar 2013 - 16:38	Main.Betsy881	Photo by Yuval Sapir
jpg	Iris-atropurpureaDavidJosef.jpg Iris atropurpurea taken by Sophiea Aron Abzach.jpg	manage	109 73 K	05 Aug 2016 22 Jul 2019 - 18:21 16:19	BobPries HollyJohnson2017 -04-01	David Joseph photo Photo taken by Sophiea Aron Abzach.
jpg	astro01.jpg Iris-atropurpureaDavidJosef.jpg	manage	76 109 K	27 Dec 2015 05 Aug 2016 - 16:03 18:21	Main.TLaurin BobPries	Photo by Herbert David Joseph photo Kerr
jpg	atro01.jpg astro01.jpg	manage	64 76 K	27 Dec 2015 - 16:04 16:03	Main.TLaurin	Photo by Herbert Kerr
jpg	atropurpureaBenny_Strashunski.jpg atro01.jpg	manage	204 64 K	05 Aug 2016 27 Dec 2015 - 18:19 16:04	BobPries Main.TLaurin	Benny Strashunski photo Photo by Herbert Kerr
jpg	atropurpureaSchwartz.jpg atropurpureaBenny_Strashunski.jpg	manage	28 204 K	05 Aug 2016 - 18:15 18:19	BobPries	Martin Schwartz Benny Strashunski photo
jpg	atropurpureaTomWaters.jpg atropurpureaSchwartz.jpg	manage	44 28 K	05 Aug 2016 - 18:22 18:15	BobPries	Tom Waters Martin Schwartz photo
jpg	atropurpurea_-_Fietz.jpg atropurpureaTomWaters.jpg	manage	22 44 K	06 Feb 2010 05 Aug 2016 - 01:01 18:22	Main.Betsy881 BobPries	Photo by Fietz Tom Waters photo
jpg	gartenfloraAtropurpureatable1361.jpg atropurpurea_-_Fietz.jpg	manage	239 22 K	11 Oct 2013 06 Feb 2010 - 20:30 01:01	BobPries Main.Betsy881	Niodivetsity Heritage Library Photo by Fietz
jpg	gartenfloraAtropurpureatable1361.jpg	manage	239 K	11 Oct 2013 - 20:30	BobPries	Niodivetsity Heritage Library