bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Iris winogradowii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Iris, classified in the subgenus Hermodactyloides and section Reticulatae. It is a bulbous perennial, from the Caucasus mountains of Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Iris winogradowii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Genus:	Iris
Subgenus:	Iris subg. Hermodactyloides
Section:	Iris sect. Reticulatae
Species:	I. winogradowii
Binomial name
Iris winogradowii (Fomin)
Synonyms[1]
Iridodictyum winogradowii (Fomin) Rodion.

Description

It has pale primrose yellow flowers,[2] with green spots on the falls,[3] the scented flowers are up 5 cm tall and emerge between April and May.[4] With stem and flower the plant reaches a height of 10–15 cm.[3] The leaves emerge after flowering and grow up to 30–40 cm.[4] It has between 2–4 leaves each growing season.[5]

Taxonomy

It is sometimes known from the common name of Wingradoff's iris.[2]

It was named after P.Z. Winogradow-Nitikin who first described it.[4]

It was first found in 1914 and then published and described by Aleksandr Vasiljevich Fomin in 'Schedule Herb Flora Caucasus'. Vol.4 on page 88 in 1914.[6][7]

An illustration was seen in 1961 in the 'Collins Guide to Bulbs'.[8] It was grown in Australia from seed provided by the Komarov Botanical Institute in St. Petersburg in 1972.[9]

It was verified by United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service on 4 April 2003, then updated on 1 December 2004.[7]

Iris winogradowii is an accepted name by the RHS.[10] The iris later gained the RHS's Award of Garden Merit.[11]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to temperate Asia.[7]

Range

It is found in Azerbaijan and Georgia.[7]

In 1972, Dr Rodionenko noted that several hundred iris plants were on Mount Lomtismta near Bakuriani, (in Georgia).[12]

Habitat

In 1914, it was originally found in the gravelly soils of the alpine meadows of Mount Lomtismta. Part of the Caucasus regions of Adzharo-Imeretinskiy Range.[13]

Conservation

The plant is now on the 'endangered' list. Now only found in the republics of Georgia and Abkhazia.[9][14] Only a couple of hundred plants existed in 1978.[5] In the Caucasus mountains, it is at risk of extinction due to the over-collection of the flowers and bulbs.[15]

Cultivation

It was first grown in the UK in 1923.[4]

Due to its alpine origins, it prefers to grow in semi-shade in cool peat enriched soils.[16]

It is normally grown in a rock garden, alpine house or bulb frame.[5] In gardens it prefers humus-rich, porous soil in cool shade and does best if replanted each year after a fairly dry summer.

It has been remarked that this species is difficult to grow in a pot.[3]

Cultivars

In 1960, E.B. Anderson created the hybrid of Iris histrioides and Iris winogradowii. He then named the plant after the wife of a fellow enthusiast, Eliot Hodgkin (mother of Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin).[3] Iris Katharine Hodgkin has light blue standards and pale yellow falls.[17]

Iris 'Sheila Ann Germaney' is another hybrid between Iris histrioides and Iris winogradowii. It is similar to 'Katherine Hodgkin', with a paler blue tone and less yellow colouring.[3]

Iris 'Frank Elder' is a white form hybrid.[2]

References

Other sources

• Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR).
• Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934–1964. Flora SSSR.
• Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 179.

External links

Media related to Iris winogradowii at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Iris winogradowii at Wikispecies

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