Iris fosteriana is a species in the genus Iris, subgenus Scorpiris.
It was named after Michael Foster (a known British Iris expert) by Dr Aitchison, and found in Pendjeh, Turkmenistan.[1] [2]
First described in transactions of the Linnean Society of London in April 1888 and then published by John Gilbert Baker in Botanical Magazine in 1892.[3]
Iris fosteriana is an accepted name by the RHS.[4]
It has many similarities with other iris species in the Xiphium.[1]
It has a slim bulb (coloured cream) with a long thin neck. Below the bulb are tuberous roots that are white, thin and 6in long. The fragile roots mean that the bulb does not take transplanting very well.[1]
In Spring, (March in the UK[1]) it has 1 or 2 long tubed flowers that are 4–5 cm (1.5 or 2in) wide with downward-turned rich purple (or deep purple) standards and creamy yellow (or pale yellow) falls.[5] The flowers do not produce any scent.[1] After flowering, it produces seeds, but there is no aril (coating) on the seed. The seeds are cube-shaped.[6]
It has deeply channeled mid-green leaves which have a silver edge.[5] Which start growing in early December. By March, they have turned grey near the base, and mid-green at the tops.[7] They reach between 4-8mm wide and grow up to 18 cm long.The leaves when mature hide the stem.[7]
The plant reaches a total height of approximately 10–15 cm tall when in bloom.[8]
Best grown in the uk, in an alpine house or bulb frame.[5]
Found in the sandy soils of Gulran, Afghanistan, at an altitude of about 4,000 feet.[1] It is also found on the dry steppes (750-2000m above sea level) of North East Iran,[7] near Kopet Dag mountain range.[9] Which also includes the former Russian state of Turkmenistan.[8] [10]