''Iris croatica'' is a bearded
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 ...
species of
iris (subgenus ''Iris'') endemic to
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
.
Description
It has branched stems and dark violet flowers.
Like other irises, 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 standards are slightly paler than the falls, they have white veining on the throat. It has a beard which is whitish yellow, and the spathes are slightly tinged with red-violet, like those of ''
Iris aphylla''.
Genetics
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 was counted as 4n=48 (making it a ]tetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...
).
Taxonomy
It was described in 1962 by botanists Ivo and Marija Horvat,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 ...
in his book 'The iris', reclassified it a synonym of '' Iris germanica''.
Distribution and habitat
''Iris croatica'' 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
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 ...
areas of Europe.
Range
It is found in Croatia and Slovenia.limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
soils.Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
including the hills of Samoborsko gorje (near Samobor
Samobor () is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area. Administratively it is a part of Zagreb County.
Geography
Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samobor hills (), the eas ...
), the hill Cesargradska gora (near Klanjec), near Josipdol, on the hill of Strahinjčica (near Radoboj), and at Zagrebačko gorje and Žumberačko gorje.national flower
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used t ...
of Croatia.[James Minahan ]
References
External links
''Iris croatica''
Flora Croatica Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6070345
croatica
Endemic flora of Croatia
Garden plants of Europe
Culture of Croatia
Plants described in 1962