''Iris lineata'' is a plant species in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus '' Iris'', and in the section ''Regelia''. It is a rhizomatous

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, from the mountains of

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

, between

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It has tall slender stems, long leaves and greenish yellow flowers covered, with brown violet, or brown purple veining over the top. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in

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

regions.

Description

It is very similar in form to'' Iris darwasica''. It has a small, short rhizome, which is less than 2 cm long. It is covered (on the top) with the fibrous remains of last seasons leaves. It has secondary roots, short

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s. It has erect, linear, leaves that are long and 0.3–0.6 cm wide. They disappear after the blooming period, and begin to re-grow the next season in January. It has an erect stem, that can grow up to between tall. The stem has acuminate (pointed), membranous, spathes or bracts, (leaves of the flower bud), which are long, with pale margins. The upper third of the spathe is flushed purple. The stems hold between 2 and 3 terminal (top of stem) flowers, blooming in spring, between April and May. The long and thin, flowers are in diameter. They are greenish yellow, with brown violet, or brown purple veining over the top. 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 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

(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 very ...

), known as the 'standards'. The elliptic to oblanceolate falls are long, and 1.3 cm wide, with a long blue beard, in the centre of the fall. The elliptic to oblanceolate standards are long, they also have a thin beard. It has short

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s and a long perianth tube. It has pale blue style branches, that are long, purple brown lobes, anthers that are 1.4–1.7 cm long, filaments that are 1–1.2 cm long and yellow

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

. After the iris has flowered, it produces a seed capsule and seed, which have not been described.

Biochemistry

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. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

, having two sets of

chromosomes A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

, this can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings. It has a chromosome count: 2n=22.

Taxonomy

It is pronounced as (Iris) EYE-ris (lineata) lin-ee-AY-tuh. It is commonly known as 'Lined Iris' (in Russia). The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''lineata'' means with lines (or stripes). It refers to the veins on the narrow standards and falls. It was first published and described by

Regel Eduard August von Regel (sometimes Edward von Regel or Edward de Regel or Édouard von Regel), Russian: Эдуард Август Фон Регель; (born 13 August 1815 in Gotha; died 15 April 1892 in St. Petersburg) was a German horticultural ...

in 'Gartenflora' Vol.36 Issue 201, table 1244 in 1887. Then by Foster in '' Curtis's Botanical Magazine'' Vol.114 in 1888. It was also published (by Foster) in '' The Gardeners' Chronicle'' Series 3 Vol.4 page 36 in 1888. Was once thought a synonym of ''Iris darwasica'', In 1935, ''Iris karategina'' was published and described by B.Fedtsch., in 'Flora URSS' (Flora Unionis Rerumpublicarum Sovieticarum Socialisticarum) Vol 4 page542. It was later classified as a synonym of ''Iris lineata''. In 1968, it was published in 'Yearbook of the British Iris Society' with a colour illustration. It was verified by

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

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 lineata'' is an accepted name by the RHS.

Distribution and habitat

''Iris lineata'' is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

areas of central

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. a native to Central Asia (north of Afghanistan). Central Asia, north-eastern Afghanistan

Range

It was found in the former country of

. The current range is between Tajikistan, (including the Karateginskii Range, within the Gissar Mountain Range), and in Afghanistan, within the upper Farkhar Valley of

Farkhar District Farkhar District is a district in Takhar Province of Afghanistan. It is located southeast of Taloqan. The Khanabad River flows inside this valley. Around 99% of the people in Farkhar speak Dari. Farkhar has about 50,000 people and 75 villages. ...

, in the Takhar Province.

Habitat

It grows on the dry, rocky open slopes of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

mountains. They can be found at an altitude of above sea level.

Conservation

This is a protected iris, listed on the

Red Data Book The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

of Tajikistan.

Cultivation

It prefers to grow in well-drained soils in full sun. It can be grown in alpine houses. It was last introduced into cultivation in the UK by Paul Furse in 1967.

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 97:175. * Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 64. * Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963–. Flora iranica.

External links

Has photos of iris lineata

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15571315 lineata Plants described in 1887 Flora of Central Asia Flora of Afghanistan Flora of Tajikistan