bio.wikisort.org - Plant

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
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 O.Fedtsch
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

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 to 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 between 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

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

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

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

• Iris narbutii 'Kara Kaga'[9]

In Russia, Vvedenskii had noted several natural hybrids including;

• J. narbutii x J maracandica (near Jizzak, Uzbekistan),
• J. narbutii x J. Orchioides and
• J. narbutii x J. subdecolorata (near Darbaza, Kazakhstan).[3]

References

External links

• Image of Iris narbutii on flickr
• Many images of Iris narbutii

Data related to Iris narbutii at Wikispecies

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