Iris narbutii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Iris, subgenus Scorpiris. It is a bulbous perennial from Central Asia. It has dark green leaves, short stems, spring flowers in shades of greenish-yellow to pale violet.

Iris narbutii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Iris subg. Scorpiris
Section: Iris sect. Scorpiris
Species:
I. narbutii
Binomial name
Iris narbutii
Synonyms[1]
  • Iris caucasica var. oculata (Maxim)
  • Iris dengerensis (B.Fedtsch.)
  • Iris hissarica O.Fedtsch. ex Kneuck.
  • Juno dengerensis (B.Fedtsch.) Soják
  • Juno narbutii (O.Fedtsch.) Vved.

Description

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Iris narbutii has a brown bulb with papery tunic,[2] the bulb is approx. 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in diameter.[3] It has thickened roots,[4] which look similar to fat short pointed tubers.[5] The thin, channelled dark green leaves emerge before the flowers, they are 5–25 mm wide (close to the base of the plant).[4][6][3] They gradually narrow to an apex (falcate-like or lanceolate),[2] and have a very visible white edging/margin.[4]

One of the shorter Juno irises, similar to Iris leptorrhiza,[2] only growing to a height of 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in).[4][6][7]

It blooms in early-mid spring,[3] flowering between January and April depending on the weather conditions.[4][2][6] It has 1 or 2 scentless flowers per bulb stem.[4][3][7]

The flowers come in a range of shades from greenish-yellow to pale violet.[2][6][7] The green-purple perianth tube is about 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in) long.[4][3] It has standards (3.5–5 cm or 1.4–2.0 in) that hang downwards.[6][8][9] It has falls that start upright, but then the blade bends downwards, with a dark violet blotch at the tip. They have a raised white crest surrounded by a yellow zone/area.[2][7][9] The yellow zone can sometimes have a dark purple ring around it.[3]

It has whitish pollen.[4]

Taxonomy

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It is sometimes misspelt as 'Iris narbuti'.[10][11]

It was first published as Juno narbutii by Olga Fedtschenko in 'Izvestiya Imperatorskago Obscestva Ljubitelej Estestvoznanija, Antropologii i Etnografii, Sostojascago pri (Imperatorskom) Moskovskom Universitete' in 1902.[12] It was later published as Iris narbutii by Boris Fedtschenko in Bull. Jard. Bot. St. Petersb. Vol.V on page 157 in 1905.[4]

Iris narbutii is now an accepted name by the RHS.[13]

It is listed in 1995 in 'Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR)' by Czerepanov, S. K.[14]

It may have been named after 'Narbuta Beg'(1774-1798), a grandson of 'Abd al-Karim' (Khanate of Kokand) of the Fergana Valley, Central Asia, where the iris was found.[15]

Native

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Iris narbutii is from Central Asia.[7][9] Originally found on the slopes of Syr-Darya river valley.[4][8]

It is found on the rocky, gravelly slopes of the mountains of western Tien Shan and southern Pamir Mountains.[3] Also seen near to Samarkand and Tashkent.[4]

Olga Fedtschenko had speculated that the plants from west Tien Shan, could be a separate species, due to their paler colour.[4]

In Chulbair Mountains, Uzbekistan, it is a threatened species and close to extinction.[2]

Cultivation

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It can be seen growing in the 'Le Grand Clos Botanique Garden' in Bourgueil, France.[16]

It can be cultivated in pots,[2] or in well-drained soils in sunshine (like other Juno irises).[6]

Known hybrids

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  • Iris narbutii 'Kara Kaga'[9]

In Russia, Vvedenskii had noted several natural hybrids including;

References

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  1. ^ "Iris narbutii O.Fedtsch". www.theplantlist.org. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Chapter III bulbous iris". irisbotanique.over-blog.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Juno". flower.onego.ru. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Komarov, V.L. (1935). "Akademiya Nauk SSSR (FLORA of the U.S.S.R.) Vol. IV". pp. 430–431. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  5. ^ Taggart, Peter (6 January 2010). "Iris narbutii". signa.org (Species Iris Group of North America). Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Almond, Jim. "PLANT OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER". freespace.virgin.net. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e Cassidy, G.E.; Linnegar, S. (1987). Growing Irise (Revised ed.). Bromley: Christopher Helm. p. 147. ISBN 0-88192-089-4.
  8. ^ a b "(SPEC) Iris narbutii Fedts". wiki.irises.org (American Iris Society). 24 March 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d Waddick, Jim. "Juno irises J-R". pacificbulbsociety.org. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  10. ^ Gardener, Chris (18 April 2011). "Tajikistan & Uzbekistan, A Reconnaissance Report" (PDF). greentours.co.uk. p. 5. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Iris". bulbsbirdsnmore.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Iris narbutii O.Fedtsch". kew.org. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Iris narbutii". www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  14. ^ Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR), p. 281, at Google Books
  15. ^ Ahmad Hasan Dani and Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson (Editors) History of Civilizations of Central Asia Volume V: Development in contrast from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century , p. 74, at Google Books
  16. ^ "iris botanique". irisbotanique.over-blog.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
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  Data related to Iris narbutii at Wikispecies