''Iris persica'', the Persian iris, is a native plant of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. It is particularly known for its beauty and fragrance. One of the first Juno irises to be described, this species has been in cultivation for centuries and was listed by

Philip Miller Philip Miller Royal Society, FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botany, botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ...

in his book of 1732. It was originally grown as an indoor plant.

Description

This

bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

ous

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 ...

is short, about 4 inches (10 cm) high. The leaves are 0.2 to 0.6 inches (5 to 15 mm) wide with a pale edge and a grey underside. The flowers are 2 inches (5 cm) across, varying in colour from brownish to greenish or greyish.

Distribution

It is an

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon, taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial g ...

growing in the hills of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, at altitudes between 300 and 5400 feet (100 to 1650 metres).

Cultivation

''Iris persica'' needs warmth and shelter to blossom but can be grown in the open air. It flowers in February and March and may flower for up to six weeks in a row. The beauty of this plant attracted the attention of gardening writers including

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful nov ...

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

, Jekyll, Gertrude (1900)
''Home and Garden''
Cambridge University Press. p. 71 and William Robinson in his 1893 book ''The English Flower Garden'',Robinson, William (1893)
''The English Flower Garden, Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical, of a Worker in Both''.
John Murray. among others. Jekyll wrote "How endlessly beautiful are the various kinds of Iris, of which so many bloom in June... in a snug sunny place at the foot of a south wall ''Iris persica'', whose delicate petals of palest greenish-blue are boldly painted with stronger colours..."

References

External links

American Iris Society: Cultivars
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15296233 persica Alpine flora Flora of Iran Flora of Turkey Flora of Iraq Flora of Lebanon Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus