''Iris laevigata'', known as Japanese iris, rabbit-ear iris, or shallow-flowered iris (Japanese: カキツバタ), is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...

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 Japan. It is related to other members of ''

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 ...

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

'' Limniris'', including other species of

Japanese iris The term "Japanese iris" encompasses three species of Irises cultivated in gardens or growing wild in Japan: ''hanashōbu'' ('' Iris ensata''), ''kakitsubata'' ('' Iris laevigata'') and ''ayame'' (''Iris sanguinea''). Of these three species, ' ...

es. It is found growing in shallow waters and seems to prefer marshy and still ponds, although it can also be grown in damp soil if conditions are right. Flowers are usually blue, purple, or violet and have unique colour patterns, including some types with predominantly white flowers with blue spots (''washino-o''), and dark purples bordered with white (''maikujaku'').

Synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

include ''I. albopurpurea'' and ''I. phragmitetorum''.

Cultivation

''Iris laevigata'' differs from other Japanese irises mainly in being more dependent on water and in lacking the strong midrib of the foliage. When grown from seeds, it usually germinates in 30–545 days although even under good conditions germination may be erratic. Seeds are sown about 6 mm deep in a peaty seed sowing mix at about 15–20 °C with frequent watering. Some varieties are almost ever-blooming even in mild climates, which makes it a good candidate for water gardens 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 ...

zones. This plant has been cultivated in Japan for more than a thousand years and some varieties mentioned in Japanese gardening books in the late 17th century are still in existence. The

variegated '' Cryptocarya williwilliana'' showing leaf venation and variegated leaves Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the foliage, flowers, and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants, granting a speckled, striped, or patch ...

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

''I. laevigata'' 'Variegata' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

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

History and culture

In (

Aichi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

) one can find an example of a water garden in the ''Yatsuhashi Kakitsubata Garden'' (八橋かきつばた園) at the Muryojuji Temple which has been known for its garden since the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

and is also the place where the Japanese poet

Ariwara no Narihira was a Japanese courtier and '' waka'' poet of the early Heian period. He was named one of both the Six Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses, and one of his poems was included in the '' Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' collection. He ...

wrote a poem in the ''

Ise Monogatari is a Japanese ''uta monogatari'', or collection of ''waka (poetry), waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems ...

'' using the five initial letters of ''Ka-Ki-Tsu-Ba-Ta''. The poem goes:

''KArakoromo KItsutsu narenishi TSUma shi areba HArubaru kinuru TAbi wo shi zo omou'' (HA can also be read BA).

The is the prefectural flower of

as well as of Chiryū City. Each year at the end of April a festival is held in the temple garden as a celebration of the flowering and attracts about 250,000 visitors each year. The

Nezu Museum The , formerly known as the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, is an art museum in the Minato, Tokyo, Minato district of Tokyo, Japan. The museum is home to the private collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art assembled by Nezu Kaichirō (1 ...

in Aoyama, in central Tokyo, possesses a pair of National Treasure screens painted by Ogata Korin, '' Irises'', the most famous depiction of in art. The screens are placed on display mid-April to mid-May every year, when the are in bloom in the pond in the museum garden.

References

External links

British Iris Society
{{Authority control laevigata Endemic flora of Japan Garden plants of Asia