Iris paradoxa

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Iris paradoxa
Iris paradoxa-IMG 6535.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Iris subg. Iris
Section: Iris sect. Oncocyclus
Species:
I. paradoxa
Binomial name
Iris paradoxa
Synonyms [1]
  • Iris annaeGrossh.
  • Iris paradoxa f. paradoxa
  • Iris paradoxa var. violaceaBaker
  • Oncocyclus paradoxus(Steven) Siemssen

Iris paradoxa is a species of flowering plant native to western Asia. It has large upright petals and smaller lower petals, which is unique amongst most iris forms. They come in various shades from white, lavender, mauve, medium purple, violet, dark purple to black. It has a black or purplish black beard on the lower petals. It comes from the region of Transcaucasia, and is found in the countries of Iran, Turkey, Armenia and in Azerbaijan.

Contents

Description

I. paradoxa is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial. [2] The rhizomes are slender and usually less than 1 cm in diameter. [3] It also has secondary roots underneath the rhizomes. [4]

It has greenish-gray, [4] or blue-green leaves, [5] that are recurved or falcate (sickle-like) shaped. [3] [6] They are narrow, between 2–4 mm (0–0 in) wide, [2] [6] and less than 4 cm long. [4]

The upright stem grows between 10–25 cm (4–10 in) long, [7] [8] [9] and hold up to 2 blooms. [4]

It blooms in spring, [2] or early summer, [6] [5] between April and June. [3] [4] The flowers are 10 cm in diameter, [6] and come in various shades from white, [3] [2] lavender, mauve, [10] medium purple, [4] violet, [7] [8] dark purple to black. [5] [3]

Like other irises, the flowers have 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals (outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or tepals, known as the 'standards'. [11] Compared to other irises, the paradoxa or strangeness of the iris, is that in most forms of irises, the standards are smaller than the falls, [12] but on I. paradoxa the falls are much smaller than the standards. [4] [10]

The erect standards are broadly obovate, [3] or rounded, [6] and 5–9 cm (2–4 in) long and 3–3.6 cm (1–1 in) wide. [3] They are a pale shade with pale blue or deep blue veining. [6] [12] The smaller falls are a darker colour, [8] blackish-violet, through to pale purple densely overlaid with black-purple veins. [6] They are 2.5–4 cm (1–2 in) long and 1–1.5 cm (0–1 in) wide. [3]

The falls are also covered with blackish, [8] [7] [10] blackish-purple [2] [12] or violet hairs [9] or 'beard' [6] with a pale v-shaped mark in centre. [3]

After flowering, it becomes dormant in late summer. [2]

The seed capsule produced after flower has not been described. [3]

Biochemistry

As most irises are diploid, meaning having two sets of chromosomes. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings. [11] Iris paradoxa has been counted as 2n=20 . [4] [8] [7]

Taxonomy

Iris paradoxa from Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden Iris paradoxa-IMG 2204.jpg
Iris paradoxa from Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden

Iris paradoxa is classified in the subgenus Iris sub. Iris, Iris sect. Oncocyclus. There is a known form from Turkey called I. paradoxa f. choschab. The Latin specific epithet paradoxa refers to the Greek word for 'unusual', [13] [14] This is due to being thought being entirely unlike any other species. [12]

It was discovered in the Caucus region, [15] and then was first published and described by Steven in 'Mémoires de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou' (Mém. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou) Vol.5 on page 355 in 1817. [1] [16] [15]

It is occasionally called the 'Unusual iris', [2] or 'Velvet Iris' in America. [9] [17]

Forms

Iris paradoxa f. choschab from Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden Iris paradoxa f. choschab-IMG 2195.jpg
Iris paradoxa f. choschab from Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden

There is a known form called I. paradoxa f. choschab(Hoog) B.Mathew & Wendelbo. It was published in Fl. Iran. Vol.112 on page 31 in 1975. [18] [19]

Originally Iris paradoxa f. choschab was thought by Johannes Marius Cornelis Hoog to be a variety of I. paradoxa, called I. paradoxa var. choschab and then published in Gard. Chron. III, 29: 104 in 1901, before being downgraded to a form in 1975. [20]

It can be found near Lake Van, close to the town of Başkale, and it is common around the village of Hoşap, known for its Hoşap Castle, Gürpınar District, Van Province, Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. 'Choschab' was an old version of the Aramaic name of the castle, meaning 'good water' or 'beautiful water'. The village of Hoşap is now known by the Turkish name of 'Güzelsu'. [3]

The form is thought to be most used in cultivation. [12] It has white standards, [6] or pale lilac, lightly veined with blue. The beard is black and covers the upper half of the falls and the style arms are cream, speckled reddish brown. [3]

The internal tepals ("petals") are lined with purple on a white (choschab form) or purple to mauve (paradoxa form) background. [10]

Ecology

Males of Xylocopa valga (a type of carpenter bee) have been observed pseudo-copulating on the reduced, velvety petals of the plant in Leriksky area, near Gosmaljan, Azerbaijan. [21]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to temperate Western Asia. [16] It is found in the region of Transcaucasia, [9] [2] and in the countries of Iran, [3] [10] [8] (formerly Persia [9] [12] ), Turkey, Armenia [3] [4] [10] and in Azerbaijan, [16] [21] (including in the Nakhchivan region). [22]

It grows on arid, [8] stony hillsides and they can be found at altitude between 1,200–2,000 metres (3,900–6,600 ft) above sea level. [3] [6]

Cultivation

I. paradoxa can be easily grown in an alpine house, [6] or they can be placed in rock gardens, which should have a summer drought. [4] They grow well in full sun with mildly acidic to mildly alkaline soils (of ph levels between 6.1–7.8). [5] The flower and stem (if removed from the plant) may have a shelf life of two to three days. [4] Irises can generally be propagated by division, [5] [23] or by seed growing. [5]

I. paradoxa has been listed with Iris orientalis and Iris spuria subsp. musulmanica as halophyte (salt-tolerant) plants. [24]

Cultivars and crosses

Iris paradoxa has been used in various breeding programmes and various cultivars have been produced including: 'Atrata', 'Choschab', 'Jolfa Form', 'Medwedewi', 'Mirabilis', 'Paradoxa' and 'Paradoxa Albo-Lutescens'. [9]

Various Iris paradoxa crossed Hybrids have also been produced;

Iris paradoxa crossed with Section Oncocyclus Irises:

Iris paradoxa crossed with Section Regelia Irises :

Toxicity

Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (including rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested, it can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction. [5] [27]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Iris acutiloba</i> Species of plant

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<i>Iris atropurpurea</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Iris barnumiae</i> Species of plant

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<i>Iris gatesii</i> Species of plant

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<i>Iris hermona</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Iris iberica</i> Species of plant

Iris iberica is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the Caucasus mountains of Armenia, eastern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan. It has narrow, glaucous, gray-green and sickle shaped leaves, short stem holding a single flower in late spring. Which has a pale background covered with heavy veining in pale mauve, violet, dark purple, maroon or purple-brown. It has a black or dark purple signal patch and a brown or purple-brown beard. Although, it has many hybrid forms dues to its variability and has 2 known subspecies of Iris iberica subsp. elegantissima and Iris iberica subsp. lycotis. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, as it is hardier than other Oncocyclus species.

<i>Iris iberica <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> elegantissima</i> Subspecies of flowering plant

Iris iberica subsp. elegantissima is a subspecies in the genus Iris, subgenus Iris and section Oncocyclus. It is a subspecies of Iris iberica and is a rhizomatous perennial, from Armenia, Turkey and Iran. It has large, thin and falcate (sickle-shaped) leaves, slender stem with a single flower between April and May. It has a white, cream or pale yellow ground, which is covered in dark veining or speckling in violet, mauve, purple or brown shades. The larger standards are paler, normally white and less veined. The falls, have darker veining and a dark signal patch and brown or purple beard. It is commonly known as Iris elegantissima, especially in Europe and Russia. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, but normally needs some protection during the winter period.

<i>Iris mariae</i> Species of plant

Iris mariae is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the deserts of Israel and Egypt. It is fairly tall, with long and slender glaucous leaves, and in late spring, lilac-purple to pinkish or violet flowers with deeper veining and blackish-violet signal and dark purple beard.

<i>Iris sari</i> Species of plant

Iris sari is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in section Oncocyclus. It is from the rocky steppes and hills of Turkey. It has curved or straight leaves, cream, greenish or yellowish flowers which are variable and veined with crimson, purple-brown, reddish brown, reddish-purple or black. It has a dark maroon, rich crimson or brown signal patch and gold or yellow beard.

Iris nectarifera is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and in the Oncocyclus section. It is found in Iraq, Syria and southeastern Turkey. It has yellow or cream flowers which have purple veining, a purple signal patch and a yellow beard. It has a known variety from Turkey called I. nectarifera var. mardinensis.

Iris swensoniana is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and in the Oncocyclus section. It grows in the deserts of Syria. It has blue-green curved leaves, tall stems holding purple-black or purple blooms with a yellow beard and maroon-black signal patch.

Iris westii is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and in the Oncocyclus section. It is from the mountain sides of Lebanon. It has curved grey-green leaves, a stem carrying one flower in shades of lilac, white or beige with spotting or veins in a darker shade or violet. The lower petals have deep velvety chocolate or deep violet-black signal patch and a purple beard. It rare and threatened due to habitat destruction, from military actions, overgrazing by goats and other factors.

References

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  22. ↑ "Next year is going to be Oncocyclus Iris year! By Ian Green". www.greentours.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "How to divide iris rhizomes". gardenersworld.com. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  24. ↑ M. Ajmal Khan, Benno Boer and Munir Ozturk (Editors) Sabkha Ecosystems: Volume Iv: Cash Crop Halophyte and Biodiversity Conservation, Volume 4 (2014) , p. 124, at Google Books
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  26. 1 2 "Aril Society International". arilsociety.org. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
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