''Iris winogradowii'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Iris'', classified in the subgenus ''

Hermodactyloides The subgenus ''Hermodactyloides'' of Iris includes all reticulate-bulbed bulbous irises. It was formerly named as a genus, ''Iridodictyum'' by Rodionenko in 1961. but it was not widely accepted and most botanists preferred 'Hermodactyloides'. ...

'' and section ''Reticulatae''. It is a bulbous

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 Caucasus mountains of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Description

It has pale primrose yellow flowers, with green spots on the falls, the scented flowers are up 5 cm tall and emerge between April and May. With stem and flower the plant reaches a height of 10–15 cm. The leaves emerge after flowering and grow up to 30–40 cm. It has between 2–4 leaves each growing season.

Taxonomy

It is sometimes known from the common name of ''Wingradoff's iris''. It was named after P.Z. Winogradow-Nitikin who first described it. It was first found in 1914 and then published and described by Aleksandr Vasiljevich Fomin in 'Schedule Herb Flora Caucasus'. Vol.4 on page 88 in 1914. An illustration was seen in 1961 in the 'Collins Guide to Bulbs'. It was grown in Australia from seed provided by the Komarov Botanical Institute in St. Petersburg in 1972. It was verified by

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

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 ex ...

on 4 April 2003, then updated on 1 December 2004. ''Iris winogradowii'' is an accepted name by the RHS. The iris later gained the RHS's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Distribution and habitat

It is native to temperate Asia.

Range

It is found in Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 1972, Dr Rodionenko noted that several hundred iris plants were on Mount Lomtismta near Bakuriani, (in

).British Iris Society

Habitat

In 1914, it was originally found in the gravelly soils of the alpine meadows of Mount Lomtismta. Part of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

regions of Adzharo-Imeretinskiy Range.

Conservation

The plant is now on the 'endangered' list. Now only found in the republics of Georgia and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...

. Only a couple of hundred plants existed in 1978.Gren Lucas (editor) In the Caucasus mountains, it is at risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed ...

due to the over-collection of the flowers and bulbs.

Cultivation

It was first grown in the UK in 1923. Due to its alpine origins, it prefers to grow in semi-shade in cool peat enriched soils. It is normally grown in a rock garden, alpine house or bulb frame. In gardens it prefers humus-rich, porous soil in cool shade and does best if replanted each year after a fairly dry summer. It has been remarked that this species is difficult to grow in a pot.

Cultivars

In 1960, E.B. Anderson created the hybrid of '' Iris histrioides'' and ''Iris winogradowii''. He then named the plant after the wife of a fellow enthusiast, Eliot Hodgkin (mother of Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin). Iris ''Katharine Hodgkin'' has light blue standards and pale yellow falls. Iris 'Sheila Ann Germaney' is another hybrid between ''Iris histrioides'' and ''Iris winogradowii''. It is similar to 'Katherine Hodgkin', with a paler blue tone and less yellow colouring. Iris 'Frank Elder' is a white form hybrid.

References

Other sources

* Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR). * Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934–1964. Flora SSSR. * Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 179.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2584762 winogradowii Plants described in 1914 Flora of Azerbaijan Flora of Georgia (country) Flora of the Caucasus Flora of Asia