''Iris dolichosiphon'' is a plant 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 ''

'' and in the section ''Pseudoregelia''. 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 China and

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. It has long, thin dark green leaves, very short stem, and dark blue, purple, or violet flowers. That are mottled with white. It has thick white/orange beards. It has one

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, ''Iris dolichosiphon subsp. orientalis'', from China,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. It has similar flowers. They are cultivated as ornamental plants 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 has very short rhizomes, about 1 cm in diameter.British Iris Society (1997) They form dense clumps of plants, along the ground. Beneath the rhizome, are secondary roots that grow deep into the ground. It has basal leaves can grow up to between long and between 0.2 and 1.4 cm wide. The leaves are around long at flowering time. They then extend after the blooming period is over, up to when the plant fruits. They grow 10 days before the plant flowers. They are dark green with

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give lo ...

y surfaces, linear, and gradually tapered to an acute apex (or point). It has a very short stem, almost at ground level. The stem has 3 or 4, membranous, spathes 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 dry after flowering. The stems hold 1 terminal (top of stem) flowers, blooming between April and June. The flowers can last for up to two days. The flowers are in diameter, come in shades of blue, from dark blue,Basak Gardner & Chris Gardner purple, to violet. They are mottled, or blotched, with white, or greenish-white. The flowers are similar in form to '' Iris narcissiflora'' flowers, (another ''Pseudoregelia iris''). 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 oblong, or spatulate (spoon like), long and 0.8 - 1.8 cm wide. They have a dense beard of clavate (club-shaped) hairs, that are orange tipped, at the junction of haft (bend on the petal) and blade (widest part of the petal). The deflexed (bent downwards) and spreading (horizontally) standards are long and 0.5 – 1.5 cm wide. They have brown and curled over margins. It has long

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

tube, that widens up to 1 cm in diameter. It is brownish violet, glossy, or glaucous, and covered in leaf-like bracts, It has long

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

and long and 0.6 -1.5 cm wide, style branches, that are elliptic (in shape) and dark violet with pale margins. It has 1.2 cm wide filaments, which are blue at top and cream below, or very pale violet. It has 0.8 – 1 cm long and 0.2 cm wide

anthers The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

, that are orange or pale violet. It has white or off-white pollen. After the iris has flowered, in September, it produces a thin ellipsoid seed capsule, that are long, with an acute apex. They dehisce (split open) below the apex of the capsule, with 3 lateral slits. The seeds are long, with a long large aril (appendage).

Biochemistry

In 2006, 13 species of Iris, including '' Iris subdichotoma'', '' Iris delavayi'' and ''Iris dolichosiphon'' were studied for a

cytological Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

analysis of the

chromosome 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 import ...

counts. 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 a chromosome count: 2n=22, the same as '' Iris cuniculiformis'' (another ''Pseudoregelia iris'').

Taxonomy

It is written as 长管鸢尾 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 ''chang guan yuan wie'' in

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

. The

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 ...

''dolichosiphon'' refers to ''long tube'', as 'dolicho' is Latin for long and 'siphon' means tube. Similarly used in ''

Quararibea dolichosiphon ''Quararibea dolichosiphon'' is a species of flowering plant in the Malvaceae family. It is found only in Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering Sou ...

'', '' Gladiolus dolichosiphon'' and ''

Origanum × dolichosiphon ''Origanum'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants and subshrubs in the family Lamiaceae. They are native to Europe, North Africa, and much of temperate Asia, where they are found in open or mountainous habitats. A few species ...

''. The seed of the plant was collected in 1984 by David Long and Alan Sinclair from

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

from Bhutan. The seed was germinated and the plant grown in the Botanical Garden rockery. It was first published and described by Noltie 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 ...

(Bot. Mag.) Vol.7 Issue1 page 12 in 1990. Noltie noted in Bot. Mag. that many previously collected specimens of ''

Iris kemaonensis ''Iris kemaonensis'', the Kumaon iris, is a plant species in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Iris'' and in the section ''Pseudoregelia''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Tibetan China, Bhutan, India, Kashmir and Nepal. It ...

'' in various

herbaria A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

, were in fact of ''Iris dolichosiphon'', due to the fact that the range of ''dolichosiphon'' extended into Bhutan, but ''kemaonensis'' does not. Even

William Rickatson Dykes William Rickatson Dykes (4 November 1877 – 1 December 1925) was an English amateur botanist who became an expert in the field of iris breeding and wrote several influential books on the subject. He was also interested in tulips, amaryllis, an ...

had identified some specimens as '' Iris potaninii''. 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 4 April 2003, then updated on 2 December 2004 ''Iris dolichosiphon'' is an accepted name by the RHS.

Distribution and habitat

''Iris dolichosiphon'' 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 ...

areas of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Range

It is found in China, (in the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Xizang The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Hanyu Pinyin, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the Tibet Area, a former administrative divisio ...

, and

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

), and in Bhutan. Although, some references mention India and

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

(Burma), but these may refer to ''Iris dolichosiphon subsp. orientalis'', which is only from India and Burma, as well as China. (See later notes).

Habitat

It grows in alpine meadows, open grassy hillsides, and on

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) ...

cliffs. They can be found at an altitude of above sea level. They can be found among shrubs such as ''

Lonicera webbiana Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely known species include ...

'', '' Berberis virescens'' and '' Rhododendron campanulatum subsp. aeruginosum''.

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, ...

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 8. It is hardy in the UK and Europe. It is best grown in well-drained soils in full sun. It can be grown in a rock garden. It can be found in few specialist nurseries, but can be found incorrectly labelled as '' Iris narcissiflora''.

Propagation

It is very difficult to grow from seed, thought to be

self-incompatible Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexes among individuals ...

, therefore propagation must be done by division.

''Iris dolichosiphon'' subsp. ''orientalis''

It is the only subspecies of the main species.

Description

''Iris dolichosiphon'' subsp. ''orientalis'' is similar in form to the main species but has more blotching on falls.

Notes

It is written as 大锐果鸢尾 in

and known as ''dong fang yuan wei'' in

. The sub species (with the main species) was also first published and described by Noltie in Bot. Mag. Vol. 7 Issue 1 on page 12 in 1990. It has also been published in the ''New Plantsman'' Vol. 2 Issue 3 on page 135 in 1995. It was verified by United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) on 4 April 2003, then updated on 2 December 2004. ''Iris dolichosiphon'' subsp. ''orientalis '' is also an accepted name by the RHS. It is sometimes known as ''Iris dolichosiphon'' 'Orientalis'. It has the same chromosome count as the main species, being 2n=22.

Sub species range

It is found in China, (in Yunnan and Sichuan,) India and Burma, in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

(near

Arunachal Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and largest town. It borders the Indian sta ...

and

Pradesh "Pradesh" refers to a province or territory in various South Asian languages. It derives from the Sanskrit (''pradeśa''), meaning "sub-region" or "sub-country". The word was borrowed into other languages to signify "nation" or "country": * , ' ...

). At high elevations.

References

Sources

* Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994–. Flora of China (English edition).

External links

** ** {{Taxonbar, from=Q15570651 dolichosiphon Flora of Bhutan Flora of China Flora of Northeast India Flora of Myanmar Garden plants of Asia Plants described in 1990