''Iris bloudowii'' is a species in the genus ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

''. It is also in the subgenus of ''

'' and in the ''Psammiris'' section. It is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

, from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, with sickle-shaped leaves, slender stem and 2 bright or pale yellow flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions.

Description

It is similar in form to '' Iris humilis'' (another ''Psammiris'' species). It has a thick, short, irregularly shaped, fibrous rhizome. They are in diameter. Under the rhizome are numerous yellow-white, secondary roots. On top of the rhizome, are the brown, fibrous remains of old leaves.British Iris Society (1997) The rhizome has many branches, creating a slowly, creeping plant. It has 2–4 linear, lanceolate, or sword-shaped basal leaves. They are slightly curved or sickle-shaped. They appear in spring, as broad, brown shoots, before turning greyish green or light green. They can grow up to between long and between 4 and 8 mm wide at blooming time. Later, they extend up to between long and between 8 and 13 mm wide. They have 5–6 longitudinal veins, but no central mid-vein. The leaves are deciduous, and die away after flowering. It has a slender, erect stem, that can reach up to between long. After flowering, the stem extends up to long. It is not branched and carries the flowers above the foliage. The stem has 2 or 3 keeled, oblong-lanceolate, reddish purple, membranous

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

s or

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

(leaves of the flower bud). They are long and 1.6–2 cm wide. The stems hold 2 terminal (top of stem) flowers, blooming in late spring, between April and May, or June (in Russia). The flowers are held on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

(stalks) that are 0.5–2 cm long. The flowers are in diameter, come in shades of yellow, from bright yellow, to clear yellow, to dark yellow. It has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

(outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of ve ...

), known as the 'standards'. The falls are obovate, or ovate, with purple or brown veins, leading to the haft (the section closest to the stem), and have a central yellow or golden beard. They are 4 cm long and 2 cm wide. The upright standards are oblanceolate and 3–4.5 cm long and 1–1.2 cm wide. They are narrower and shorter than the falls. It has a 1–1.5 cm long perianth tube, which is equal in length to the green, spindle-shaped ovary. The ovary also has 6 purple stripes. The plant also has long stamens, and bright yellow style branches that are flat and 2.5 cm long. After the iris has flowered, between June and August, it produces an oval or ovoid seed capsule, on a 1–1.2 cm long stalk. Inside are dark brown, ellipsoid or oval seeds, which are 5 mm long and 3 mm wide. They are wrinkled and have a white aril (appendage).

Genetics

In a 1986 study, the chromosomes of 3 iris species in China, '' Iris mandshurica'', '' Iris uniflora'' and ''Iris bloudowii'', were counted. ''Iris bloudowii'' had a count of 2n=26. In 2005, a study was carried out on ''Iris bloudowii''. In 2012, a genetic study was carried out on ''

Iris laevigata ''Iris laevigata'', known as Japanese iris, rabbit-ear iris, or shallow-flowered iris (Japanese: カキツバタ), is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to Japan. It is related to other members of '' Iris'' subgenus '' ...

'' and it is from several closely related iris species, including ''

Iris ensata ''Iris ensata'', the Japanese iris or Japanese water iris (Japanese: ''hanashōbu'', ハナショウブ), formerly ''I. kaempferi'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, native to Japan, China, Korea and Russia, and widely cu ...

'', '' Iris setosa'', '' Iris halophila'', '' Iris scariosa'', '' Iris potaninii'', '' Iris tenuifolia'', ''Iris bloudowii'', and ''

Iris sanguinea ''Iris sanguinea'' is a rhizome, rhizomatous flowering plant in the genus ''Iris (plant), Iris'' and in the series ''Iris ser. Sibiricae, Sibiricae''. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperateness, temperate regions. It is one of the s ...

''. As most irises are

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

, having two sets of

chromosomes A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most importa ...

, this can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings. It has been counted several times, 2n=22 (

Marc Simonet Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...

, 1934), 2n=22 (

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated com ...

, 1947), 2n=26 (Simonet, 1952) and 2n=26 (Doronkin, 1984).
It is commonly published as 2n=22, 26, or 2n = 26.

Taxonomy

It has the common names of 'Bludov iris' or 'Bludova iris' (in Russia). It was also known as 'Blondow's iris' due to a spelling translation mistake. It is written as 中亚鸢尾 in

Chinese script Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

, and known as ''Zhōng Yà yuān wĕi'' in

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

in China. 'Zhong ya yuan wei' is translated into English as 'Central Asian iris', or 'central iris'. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''bloudowii'' refers to von Bloudow (or Count Dmitri N. Bludova, 1785–1864), a former President of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

, founded in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. It was first published and described by

Carl Friedrich von Ledebour Carl Friedrich von Ledebour (8 July 1786 in Stralsund – 4 July 1851 in Munich;NDB/ADB Deutsche B ...

in ''Icones Plantarum'' (''Icon. Pl.'') Vol. 2 on page 5 in 1830. The type specimen for description was collected from the

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...

. It was also published in ''Flora Altaica'', Volume 4 on page 331 in 1833. Then in February 2007,

Brian Mathew Brian Frederick Mathew MBE, VMH is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, particularly ornamental bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other field ...

published an article in ''

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

'' Volume 24, Issue 1, pages 30–33. It was verified by

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

and the

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...

on 2 October 2014. ''Iris bloudowii'' is an accepted name by the RHS.

Distribution and habitat

''Iris bloudowii'' is

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to temperate regions of central Asia.

Range

It is found within the

n region, of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, in the states of Aga Buryat,

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia, is a republic of Russia located in the Russian Far East. Formerly part of the Siberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of the Far Eastern Federal District since 2018. To its nort ...

, Chita, Gorno-Altay,

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

and

Primorye Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The city of Vladivostok on the southern coast of the krai is its administrative center, an ...

. It is also found in

, and

. It is also found in China, within the

Chinese province Provinces ( zh, c=省, p=Shěng) are the most numerous type of province-level divisions in the People's Republic of China (PRC). There are currently 22 provinces administered by the PRC and one province that is claimed, but not administere ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

(also known as 'Chinese Turkestan'). This includes the

, and

Tien Shan Mountains The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

. It is listed with '' Iris glaucescens'', '' Iris humilis'', '' Iris ruthenica'', ''

Iris sibirica ''Iris sibirica'', commonly known as Siberian iris or Siberian flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plant, perennial, from Europe (including France, Italy, Switz ...

'', '' Iris tenuifolia'' and '' Iris tigridia'' being found in the

Altai-Sayan region The Altai-Sayan region is an area of Inner Asia proximate to the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains, near to where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together. This region is one of the world centers of Temperate climate, temperate pl ...

(where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together).

Habitat

It grows on the grassy meadow slopes of mountains, on the edge of woods and forests, in sandy dunes, and coastal meadows. It prefers sandy soils similar to ''Iris humilis''.

Cultivation

It is

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

to between

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

Zone 4 and Zone 9. It is very cold hardy but prefers dry winter conditions. It prefers to be grown in well-drained, light sandy soils. It can grow in gravelly soils. It can tolerate mildly acidic or mildly alkaline soils (pH levels between 6.1 and 7.8). It can tolerate positions in full sun. It has average water needs during the growing season, but it should be kept dry during the winter. In the UK, it is best grown in a covered frame, but it can grown in the open in Russia. It is rare in cultivation in the UK. It is grown in rock gardens. It has been grown in Russia since 1829. It was tested in botanical gardens of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, St. Petersburg,

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

, Chita and

Barnaul Barnaul (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob (river), Ob rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As of the Russian Censu ...

. ''

Aphis newtoni ''Aphis'' is a genus of insects in the family Aphididae containing at least 600 species of aphids. It includes many notorious agricultural pests, such as the soybean aphid ''Aphis glycines''. Many species of ''Aphis'', such as '' A. coreopsidis ...

'' Theobald can be found on ''Iris bloudowii'', '' Iris latifolia'', '' Iris spuria'' and '' Tigridia pavonia''.

Propagation

It can be propagated by division or by seed growing. In 2003, a study was carried out on pollinating and germinating seeds of ''Iris bloudowii''. It was concluded that if the pollination was around 12:00 in the morning. It is self-incompatibile.

Hybrids and cultivars

''Iris bloudowii'' is rarely used in hybridizing, but a cross with '' Iris lutescens'' called 'Promise' was successful. It also has 2 cultivars, 'Bloudowii Rupestris' and 'Bloudowii Turkestanica'.

Toxicity

Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), and if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also, handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.

References

Sources

* Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR). * Khassanov, F. O. & N. Rakhimova. 2012. Taxonomic revision of the genus Iris L. (Iridaceae Juss.) for the flora of Central Asia. Stapfia 97:177. * Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934–1964. Flora SSSR. ists as I. bloudowi Bunge * Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 39. * Waddick, J. W. & Zhao Yu-tang. 1992. Iris of China.

External links

Two photos of Iris bloudowii in flower in the Altai Mountains
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10871713 bloudowii Flora of China Flora of Kazakhstan Flora of Mongolia Flora of Russia Flora of Siberia Garden plants of Asia Plants described in 1833