Iris speculatrix
| Iris speculatrix | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Subfamily: | Iridoideae |
| Tribe: | Irideae |
| Genus: | Iris |
| Subgenus: | Limniris |
| Series: | Iris series Chinenses |
| Species: | I. speculatrix |
| Binomial name | |
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Iris speculatrix Hance |
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| Synonyms | |
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Iris speculatrix is a beardless iris in the genus Iris, in the subgenus Limniris and in the Chinenses series of the species. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from Asia, found in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It has dark green, evergreen leaves, long slender stem and flowers in various blue shades, from violet, lilac, lavender, to light blue.
Iris speculatrix has a creeping, thick, short brown rhizome.
It has glossy, linear, lanceolate (grass-like), dark green leaves that are 8–40 cm (3–16 in) long 0.4–1.2 cm (0–0 in) wide. The leaves have a sheath-like covering of fibres near the rhizome, they also have veining, which is sometimes criss-crossed and they are sometimes considered evergreen.
It has long slender flowering stems of between 12–35 cm (5–14 in) tall. ref name=pacific/> Normally within the 20–25 cm (8–10 in) range. These stems are the tallest of any species iris in the Chinenses Series.
The stems have 1 – 2 leaves on the stem, and between 1 and 2 terminal (at the top of the stem) flowers, in spring and summer, between May and June.
It has 2 or 3 green, lanceolate (lance-like), 5.5–7.5 cm (2–3 in) long, spathes (leaves of the flower bud), which (are acuminate) end in a point.
The flowers come in a range of blue shades, from violet, lilac, lavender, to light blue. They are between 5.6–6 cm (2–2 in) in diameter. Similar in size to Iris cristata.
It has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals (outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or tepals, known as the 'standards'. The falls are spatulate (spoon-like), 3–4 cm (1–2 in) long and 0.9–1.3 cm (0–1 in) wide, with a distinctive white, central signal area, that is speckled with purple and also surrounded by a dark purple area. It also has a bright yellow or orange central crest.
The standards (the same colour as the falls) are erect, oblanceolate, 3–3.7 cm (1–1 in) long and 0.9–1 cm (0–0 in) wide.
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