True irises (the genus Iris, containing
more than 200 species) grow from thick underground stems called
rhizomes. Admired for their beauty since very ancient times, irises
were nevertheless cultivated by the ancient Egyptians primarily
for these rhizomes, which were used as a source of medicine and
perfumes, a practice brought to Europe by the Greeks and continued
until the early part of the 20th century.
Rhizomatous irises are divided into
three groups - the bearded, the crested, and the beardless.
The designation "bearded"
derives from the fuzzy caterpillar-like appendage that runs down
the center of each of the flower's three drooping outer segments,
or falls; the three inner, more upright, segments are called standards.
True beardeds, or eupogens, derive from species in the series
Pumilaie and Elatae, primarily germanica
The Willamette Valley is a major source
of irises. Cooley's Gardens, located about 30 miles south of Portland
near Silverton, OR, is the largest producer of bearded irises
in the world - one of its production fields, in late May (left).
Schreiner's Iris Gardens, located another 10 miles south near
Brooks, OR, is one of the top hybridizers of beardeds, the source
of 5 of the top 10 and 8 of the top 20 most popular irises in
1998 and 1999, including the top 2, Dusty Challenger and Silverado,
and winner of the Dykes Memorial Medal, the iris world's top prize,
for Yaquina Blue in 2001 - views of its display gardens (right
and below)
Beardeds are classified by stem height
as dwarf (under 8"), standard dwarf, intermediate, border,
miniature tall, and tall (over 27")
Beardeds come in a wide range of colors
(close-ups were taken at Cooley's and Schreiner's) - whites, yellows,
oranges, pinks...
...wine-reds, blues, and purples, as
well as combinations and blends
The dwarfs (left) and minis (right),
which I saw for the first time at Schreiner's in 2002, appear
to have flattened, three-fold symmetrical shapes (e.g., Star Baby
and Bangles, medal winners in these categories for 2001)
The exotic bearded Arils are desert
plants, mainly species of the series Regelia (left*) and Oncocyclus
(center*), but can interbreed with eupogens, producing Arilbreds
- like this one (right) among the new blooms seen at Schreiner's
in 2002
The crested, or Evansia, irises replace
the beard with a ridge-like protuberance or horn, like on the
white Iris confusa (left*), a native of China, the Japanese Fringed
Iris, spotted in a Sellwood neighborhood garden (center), or this
iris with a fringed ridge on each fall (right), seen at the Portland
Classical Chinese Garden
In eastern North America, the cresteds
are represented by several species, including Iris cristata (left*),
found in the woodlands of the Northeast. On the other hand, the
only crested in the West is the Clackamas Iris, I. tenuis (right**),
which is fairly common in the Willamette Valley, especially along
the Clackamas and Molalla Rivers, but found nowhere else
The beardless irises are subdivided
into many groups. Siberian irises, from
the series Sibiricae, may be the most popular. These Siberians
were photographed at Schreiner's - Sea Shadows (left), Butter
and Sugar (center), and Baby Sister (right)
But my favorite Siberian (so far) is
King of Kings
The Pacific Coast irises, series Californicae,
grow well in the Northwest and will cross with Siberian varieties
containing 40 (but not 28) chromosomes. In this area the Pacific
Coasts are represented by I. tenax, the Tough Leaf Iris or Oregon
Flag, usually in purple or lavender, but white, cream, and yellow
varieties are also found (left); another PC found in Oregon is
the Douglas (center*); many PC hybrids, natural and otherwise
- like this one seen at the Berry Garden in Portland (right),
also grow well in this region
Other popular beardless groups include
the Louisiana irises (left*), series Hexagonae - bred from 5 species
indigenous to the boggy areas of that state, they are now available
in a remarkable range of colors and forms; and the very tall,
late-blooming, and colorful Spurias (center*). There are also
a number of miniature Spurias like I. graminea (right), a native
of Europe
Another popular beardless type is the
Japanese iris, bred for over 500 years from the Ensatae series,
mainly the species kaempheri. These produce the largest of all
iris flowers, relatively flat blooms that can measure more than
8" across. The flowers, which appear in late spring and last
into summer, come mostly in shades of white, purple, and blue,
and are often doubles, with 6 falls (right). They love moisture
and are a favorite for pond gardens; these pix were taken in late
June at the Oregon Garden in Silverton during its Grand Opening
in 2001
.Yellow flag (I. pseudacorus; left),
a Laevigatae, is an escaped import from Europe that now grows
wild in the Northwest. This is the iris featured in one of the
earliest and most enduring of French fleur-de-lis legends, in
which Clovis, king of the Franks, adopts it for his standard in
the 5th c after a victory in a crucial battle against the Goths
because of a pledge to his Christian wife. A later legend attributes
the connection to Louis VII (Loys Florus), who adopted a purple
iris as his symbol for the Second Crusade in the 12th c. However,
the phrase fleur-de-lis appears to have arisen before the 11th
c in the north of France as a translation from the German lieschblume
(also lies or leys), for yellow iris; and the symbol,
which appears as far back as Mesopotamia, was in use as an emblem
of royalty by the Middle Ages, appearing on coins from the 10th
c, and on the seal of French kings and the gonfalon of Florence
by the 11th c. Laevigatae come in other colors too (right*)
I recently spotted several other rhizomatous
Iridaceae at the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden near Hilo
on the Big Island, later identified as Neomarica gracilis, called
the Apostle Plant or Walking Iris (left), which grows wild from
southern Mexico to Brazil, and Trimezia martinicensis (Jacq.),
the Tiger Eye or Yellow Walking Iris (right), from the West Indies
Although taxonomists frown on the designation,
several types of plants grown from bulbs are also known to gardeners
as irises - the genus Xiphium (left), or Spanish iris, with its
Dutch and English hybrid counterparts (the florist's iris); the
genus Juno, here I. bucharica (center*); and the dwarf Reticulatas
(genus Iridodictyum; right), seen at Wooden Shoe Bulbs. Several
other genera like Pardanthopsis have individual species called
irises because of their appearance, e.g., P. dichotoma, the Vesper
Iris
(Pix marked with an * were adapted
from Ken Walker's home page. He grows a wide range of irises in
Concord, California, and is apparently just one of many passionate
iris growers who have wonderful photo pages of their collections
on the Web - but he gives permission to use his photos! **Adapted
from a pic taken by Carla Lankow of the Society for Pacific Coast
Native Irises)
