Talk:Horticulture/Iris

There are six subgenera, of which five are restricted to the Old World, and the sixth (subgenus Limniris) with a Holarctic distribution; the two largest subgenera are further divided into sections.
 * Iris subgenus Iris: bearded irises, growing from rhizomes.
 * Iris subgenus Iris sect. Iris
 * Iris albertii Regel
 * Iris albicans Lange
 * Iris aphylla L. – Stool Iris
 * Iris attica (Boiss. & Heldr.) Hayek
 * Iris cypriana Foster & Baker
 * Iris germanica L. – German Iris
 * Iris imbricata Lindl.
 * Iris lutescens Lam. – Crimean Iris
 * Iris marsica I.Ricci & Colas.
 * Iris mesopotamica – Mesopotamian Iris
 * Iris pallida Lam. – Sweet Iris
 * Iris pumila L.
 * Iris reichenbachii Heuff.
 * Iris sambucina L.
 * Iris scariosa Willd. ex Link
 * Iris schachtii Markgr.
 * Iris suaveolens Boiss. & Reut.
 * Iris subbiflora Brot.
 * Iris taochia Woronow ex Grossh.
 * Iris variegata L. – Hungarian Iris
 * Iris subgenus Iris sect. Oncocyclus
 * Iris acutiloba C.A.Mey.
 * Iris assadiana Chaudhary, Kirkw. & C. Weymolauth
 * Iris atrofusca Bak.
 * Iris atropurpurea Bak.
 * Iris barnumae Bak. & Fost.
 * Iris bismarckiana Reg.
 * Iris camillae Grossh.
 * Iris gatesii Foster
 * Iris haynei (Bak.) Mallet.
 * Iris iberica Hoffm.
 * Iris loretii Barbey.
 * Iris mariae Barbey.
 * Iris meda Stapf
 * Iris paradoxa Steven
 * Iris petrana Dinsm.
 * Iris sari Schott ex Bak.
 * Iris sofarana Fost.
 * Iris susiana L. – Mourning Iris
 * Iris subgenus Iris sect. Psammiris
 * Iris bloudowii Ledeb.
 * Iris humilis Georgi
 * Iris subgenus Iris sect. Hexapogon
 * Iris falcifolia Bunge
 * Iris longiscapa Ledeb.
 * Iris subgenus Iris sect. Pseudoregelia
 * Iris goniocarpa Bak.
 * Iris hookeriana Fost.
 * Iris kamaonensis Wall.
 * Iris tigrida Bunge ex Ledeb.
 * Iris subgenus Iris sect. Regelia
 * Iris hoogiana Dykes
 * Iris korolkowii Regel
 * Iris stolonifera Maxim.


 * Iris subgenus Limniris: beardless irises, growing from rhizomes.
 * Iris subgenus Limniris sect. Limniris
 * Iris bracteata S.Wats. – Siskiyou Iris
 * Iris brevicaulis Raf. – Zigzag Iris
 * Iris bulleyana Dykes
 * Iris caespitosa Pall. & Link
 * Iris chrysographes Dykes
 * Iris chrysophylla T.J.Howell – Yellowleaf Iris
 * Iris clarkei Bak.
 * Iris crocea Jacquem. ex R.C.Foster
 * Iris delavayi Micheli
 * Iris douglasiana Herbert – Douglas Iris
 * Iris ensata Thunb. – Russian Iris
 * Iris fernaldii R.C.Foster – Fernald's Iris
 * Iris foetidissima L. – Stinking Iris
 * Iris forrestii Dykes
 * Iris fulva Ker-Gawl. – Copper Iris
 * Iris giganticaerulea Small – Giant Blue Iris
 * Iris graminea L.
 * Iris grant-duffii Bak.
 * Iris hartwegii Baker – Hartweg's Iris
 * Iris hexagona Walt. – Dixie Iris
 * Iris innominata Henderson – Del Norte Iris
 * Iris kerneriana Asch. & Sint.
 * Iris koreana Nakai
 * Iris lactea Pall.
 * Iris laevigata Fisch. – Rabbitear Iris
 * Iris lazica Albov
 * Iris loczyi Kanitz
 * Iris longipetala Herb.
 * Iris lorea Jank.
 * Iris macrosiphon Torr. – Bowltube Iris
 * Iris missouriensis Nutt. – Rocky Mountain Iris
 * Iris monnieri DC.
 * Iris munzii R.C. Foster – Munz's Iris
 * Iris nelsonii Randolph – Abbeville iris
 * Iris orientalis Mill. – Yellowband Iris
 * Iris pontica Zapal.
 * Iris prismatica Pursh ex Ker-Gawl. – Slender Blue Iris
 * Iris pseudacorus L. – Yellow Iris
 * Iris purdyi Eastw. – Purdy's Iris
 * Iris ruthenica Ker-Gawl.
 * Iris sanguinea Hornem. ex Donn – Japanese Iris - ja:アヤメ
 * Iris setosa Pallas ex Link – Beachhead Iris
 * Iris sibirica L. – Siberian Iris
 * Iris sintenisii Janka
 * Iris spuria L. – Seashore Iris
 * Iris tenax Dougl. ex Lindl. – Toughleaf Iris
 * Iris tenuifolia Pall.
 * Iris tenuissima Dykes – Longtube Iris
 * Iris tridentata Pursh – Savanna Iris
 * Iris unguicularis Poir.
 * Iris verna L. – Dwarf Violet Iris
 * Iris versicolor L. – Harlequin Blueflag
 * Iris virginica L. – Virginia Iris
 * Iris wilsonii C.H.Wright
 * Iris subgenus Limniris sect. Lophiris
 * Iris confusa Sealy
 * Iris cristata Ait. – Crested Iris
 * Iris gracilipes A.Gray
 * Iris japonica Thunb.
 * Iris lacustris Nutt. – Dwarf Lake Iris
 * Iris milesii Foster
 * Iris tectorum Maxim. – Wall Iris
 * Iris tenuis S.Wats. – Clackamas Iris
 * Iris wattii Baker ex Hook.f.


 * Iris subgenus Xiphium (syn. genus Xiphion), a group of bulbous irises.
 * Iris subgenus Xiphium sect. Xiphium
 * Iris boissieri Henriq
 * Iris filifolia Boiss.
 * Iris juncea Poir.
 * Iris latifolia Mill.
 * Iris serotina Willk. in Willk. & Lange
 * Iris tingitana Boiss. & Reut. – Morocco Iris
 * Iris xiphium L. – Spanish Iris. or Dutch Iris


 * Iris subgenus Nepalensis (syn. genus Junopsis); also bulbous.
 * Iris subgenus Nepalensis sect. Nepalensis
 * Iris collettii Hook.
 * Iris decora Wall.


 * Iris subgenus Scorpiris (syn. genus Juno); also bulbous.
 * Iris subgenus Scorpiris sect. Scorpiris
 * Iris albomarginata R.C.Foster
 * Iris aucheri (Baker) Sealy
 * Iris bucharica Foster
 * Iris caucasica Hoffm.
 * Iris cycloglossa Wendelbo
 * Iris fosteriana Aitch. & Baker
 * Iris graeberiana Tubergen ex Sealy
 * Iris magnifica Vved.
 * Iris palaestina (Bak.) Boiss.
 * Iris persica L.
 * Iris planifolia (Mill.) Fiori & Paol.
 * Iris pseudocaucasica Grossh.
 * Iris regis-uzziae Feinbrun
 * Iris rosenbachiana Reg.
 * Iris vicaria Vved.


 * Iris subgenus Hermodactyloides (syn. genus Iridodictyum); also bulbous.
 * Iris subgenus Hermodactyloides sect. Hermodactyloides
 * Iris bakeriana Foster
 * Iris danfordiae (Baker) Boiss.
 * Iris histrio Rchb.f.
 * Iris histrioides (G.F.Wilson) S.Arn.
 * Iris reticulata Bieb.
 * Iris vartanii Fost.
 * Iris winogradowii Fomin

Some authors regard the Snake's Head Iris as lying outside genus Iris, and classify it as Hermodactylus tuberosus.

(the text below was left as an editors' note on wikipedia)

--(for transfer to species accounts when pages for them are started:)


 * Iris albicans, known as the white flag iris or the cemetery iris, has been cultivated since ancient times and may be the oldest iris in cultivation. Collected by Lange in 1860, it has been in cultivation since at least 1400 BC. Originating from Yemen and Saudi Arabia, it appears in a wall painting of the Botantical Garden of Tuthmosis III in the Temple of Amun at Karnak in ancient Thebes dated around 1426 BC. It grows to 30-60 cm tall and is fragrant.
 * Iris foetidissima, the Foetid Iris, the Xyris or stinking gladdon of Gerard, is a native of England south of Durham and also of Ireland, southern Europe and North Africa. Its flowers are usually of a dull, leaden-blue colour; the capsules, which remain attached to the plant throughout the winter, are 5-8 cm long; and the seeds scarlet. When bruised this species emits a peculiar and disagreeable odour.
 * Iris orienii Orjen iris, a close relative to Iris pallida. An endemic alpine species with white flowers found in the karst mountain Orjen in Montenegro. It is very rare and protected.
 * Iris pallida Dalmatian iris, Sweet iris; native to the Illyrian coast (former Yugoslavia) but widely naturalised elsewhere. Iris pallida is cultivated for extraction of essential oils from its rhizome orris root. Prefers rocky places in the mediterranean and submediterranean zone and reaches sometimes montane regions at its southern range in Montenegro. Four varieties (regularly described as separate species) are recognised with one possible new alpine species having white flowers. The variety with deep purplish flowers from Northern Italy and the Slovenian alps is called Iris cengialti.
 * Iris reichenbachii Reichenbach iris is a small bearded alpine iris from the Balkan peninsula. Specimens from the west Balkans are much smaller than those from Greece and the eastern Balkans.
 * Iris reticulata and Iris persica, both of which are fragrant, are also popular with florists.
 * Iris versicolor, or Blue Flag, is indigenous to North America, and yields "iridin", a powerful hepatic stimulant.
 * Iris xiphium, the Spanish Iris (also known as Dutch Iris) and
 * Iris xiphioides, the English Iris. Despite the common name of  I xiphioides, both are of Spanish origin, and have very showy flowers, so they are popular with gardeners and florists.  They are among the hardier bulbous irises, and can be grown in northern Europe.  They require to be planted in thoroughly drained beds in very light open soil, moderately enriched, and should have a rather sheltered position. Both these present a long series of beautiful varieties of the most diverse colours, flowering in May, June and July, the smaller Spanish iris being the earlier of the two.  --

Cultivation (from wp: mostly about individual species)
Irises are extensively grown as ornamental plants in gardens. The most commonly found garden iris is the bearded German Iris and its numerous cultivars. Various wild forms and naturally occurring hybrids of Iris pallida and I. variegata form the basis of most all modern hybrid bearded iris. Median forms of bearded iris [intermediate bearded (IB), miniature tall bearded (MTB), etc] are derived from crosses between tall and dwarf varieties. Other iris types commonly found in garden are I. siberica and its hybrids (Siberian irises) and I. ensata and its hybrids (Japanese irises).

The bearded irises are easy to cultivate and propagate, and have become very popular in gardens. They grow in any good free garden soil, the smaller and more delicate species needing only the aid of turf ingredients, either peat or loam, to keep it light and open in texture. The earliest to bloom are the dwarf forms of Iris pumila, which blossom during March, April and May; and during the latter month and the following one most of the larger growing 'tall bearded' varieties, such as I. germanica, florentina, pallida, variegata, amoena, flavescens, sambucina, neglecta, ruthenica and their modern hybrids.

It should be noted that a true red standard, tall bearded Iris remains an unattained goal of frequent hybridizing and selection. There are species and selections thereof, most notably, Iris fulva, which has a relatively pure red color. However, getting this color into a modern Iris breed has proven very difficult, and thus, the vast majority of Irises are in the purple\blue range of the color spectrum.

The section Iris subgen. Iris sect. Oncocyclus contains the cushion or royal irises, a group of plants noted for their large, strongly marked flowers. Between 30 and 60 species are classified in this section, depending on the authority. Compared with other irises the cushion varieties are scantily furnished with narrow sickle shaped leaves and the flowers are usually borne singly on the stalks. The closely allied Iris subgenus Iris sect. Regelia, includes several garden hybrids with species in sect. Oncocyclus, known as "Regelio-cyclus" irises. They are best planted in September or October in warm sunny positions, the rhizomes being lifted the following July after the leaves have withered.

Iris unguicularis (syn. I. stylosa) is a late winter flowering species from Algeria, with sky-blue flowers blotched with yellow, produced (in the Northern Hemisphere) from November to March or April.

Many other smaller species of bulbous iris, being liable to perish from excess of moisture, should have a well-drained bed of good but porous soil made up for them, in some sunny spot, and in winter should be protected by a covering of half-decayed leaves or fresh coco-fibre refuse. To this set belong I. milifolia, I. junonia, I. danfordiae, I. reichenbachii and others which flower as early as February and March.

The cushion irises are somewhat fastidious growers, and to be successful with them they must be planted rather shallow in very gritty well-drained soil. They should not be disturbed in the autumn, and after the leaves have withered the roots should be protected from heavy rains until growth starts again naturally.