''Iris pseudocaucasica'' 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 ''Scorpiris''. It is a

bulbous 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 ...

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 central Asia, within the Caucasus (in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and in Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Description

It is not to be confused with ''

Iris caucasica ''Iris caucasica'' (also known as Caucasian iris)Robert Sweet, Edwin Dalton Smith (1904) is a species of plant in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of Scorpiris. Pronounced as 'kaw-KAS-ee-kuh'. It is a bulbous perennial. It was de ...

'', although in the same sub-genus of iris, they are different plants. It differs from ''Iris caucasica'' by having yellowish green or blue flowers. ''Iris pseudocaucasica'' has a bulb of 1–1.5 cm diameter. It generally has 3–4 leaves, when fully grown these reach a height of between 4 and 18 cm long and between 1 and 2.8 cm wide at the base of the plant, but averagely, they are 1–1.5 cm wide. They are generally

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

shaped, channelled, glossy green above with a greyish-green below, with a white cartilaginous margin. The large leaves normally obscure the flower stem, which can reach a maximum height of tall. It has generally 1–4 flowers per stem. It blooms in the UK between April and June. In

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. it flowers from March to May and fruits from May to June. The flowers can also be described as translucent yellow or icy blue, or creamy yellow, or light bluish–violet. The flowers have a perianth tube of 3–4 cm long and bracts 4–5 cm long. It has large winged standards, which are about 2 cm long. The pale blue forms have falls that have a yellow wavy crest. It has an ellipsoid capsule, (produced after flowering) which is about 3.5 cm long, producing seeds about 4 mm long.

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. 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=20. It has been studied in

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 ...

during a

karyotypic A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is discerned by de ...

study in 2013, with Iris songarica,

Iris aucheri ''Iris aucheri'', the Aucher-Éloy iris, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is a bulbous perennial in the Juno group of irises (multiple flowers per plant). Description ''Iris aucheri'' grows to tall, with crowded lance ...

and Iris sisyrinchium.

Taxonomy

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 ...

is derived from 'pseudo' from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word meaning 'false' and 'caucasica' meaning from the Caucasus. It was first published in 'Vĕstnik Tiflisskago Botaniceskago Sada. Moniteur du Jardin Botanique de Tiflis' on pages 40–41 in 1916 by

Alexander Alfonsovich Grossheim Alexander Alfonsovich Grossheim (6 March 1888 – 4 December 1948) was a Soviet botanist of German descent. He traveled widely over the Caucasus region collecting and studying various different plant life. He is most known for Pteridophytes and ...

. ''Iris pseudocaucasica'' is an accepted name by the RHS, and 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, and then updated on 13 March 2017. It is listed in 1995 in 'Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR)' by Czerepanov, S. K.

Distribution and habitat

It 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

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

''Iris pseudocaucasica'' is found in South East

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 ...

, North Eastern

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 ...

, North and North western

and the former USSR state of Armenia, (part of Southern

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

). It also can be found in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and Nakhichevan,

East Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in the ...

. Within Armenia, it is distributed in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

(central part of Urts mountain range) and

Meghri Meghri ( ; ) is a town and the centre of the Meghri Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia, near the border with Iran. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 4,580. According to the 2020 official estimate, Meghri's ...

(

Aygedzor Aygedzor () is a village in the Berd Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia. The Aghjkaberd mountain fortress is located close to Aygedzor. Toponymy The village was previously known as ''Kulali''. Gallery Այգեձորի «Աղջ� ...

, Vardanadzor,

Gudemnis Gudemnis () is a village in the Meghri Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia. Demographics The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported its population as 39 in 2010, down from 66 at the 2001 census. The inhabitants speak the Kakavab ...

, Shvanidzor, and Nyuvadi towns) regions. Due to the loss of the irises natural habitat, which has been caused by an expansion of the local mining industry, it has become a 'threatened' plant and is becoming rarer to find. In Iran, it is found along the lakeside of the Chalus Gorge, north of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, with in rock crevices, and within Jahan Nama, Golestan, Only yellow-flowered forms of the species have been recorded in Turkey.

Habitat

It prefers the clay, stony hillsides, screes and mountain steppes. It is found at altitudes of between above sea level.

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 4.James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) It prefers to be cultivated in well-drained soils with a high rock/stone content, that are in full sun but are protected from winter damp.

References

Other sources

* Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965–1988 (F Turk) * Euro+Med Editorial Committee Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). (EuroMed Plantbase) * Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource). (World Checkl Sel Fam) * Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. Flora SSSR. 1934–1964 (F USSR) * Mathew, B. The Iris. 1981 (Iris) 162. * Rechinger, K. H., ed. Flora iranica. 1963– (F Iran) * Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest Flora of Iraq. 1966– (F Iraq)

External links

Image of the iris

images of the iris in Elburz mountains,Iran
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5903086 pseudocaucasica Plants described in 1853 Flora of Turkey Flora of Iraq Flora of Iran Flora of Armenia Flora of Azerbaijan