Iris kuschakewiczii explained

Iris kuschakewiczii is a species in the genus Iris, subgenus Scorpiris. It is a bulbous perennial from the hills of Kazakhstan. It has dark green glaucous leaves, a short thick stem and purple spring flowers.

Description

Iris kuschakewiczii has a 1.5 cm (in diameter) bulb,[1] with a paper tunic-coating. It has thickened storage roots, close to the base.[2]

It has 4-5 dark green glaucous leaves which gradually taper to the apex,[1] [2] (falcate), They are clustered together at the base, and are 1-1.5 cm wide (close to the base).[2] They also have a contrasting white edge or margin.

It grows up to a height of between 10-, including the flower.It has a thick stem, which is between 3–5 cm long, hidden by the leaves, unbranched with 1-4 flowers.[2] The blooms appear in April–May.[1] The non-scented flowers appear above a perianth tube of 3.5-4.5 cm long.[1] [2] The flowers come in various shades of purple, from greenish purple,[2] pale violet, violet-blue, to lilac blue. The (3.5–4 cm long), falls have very dark violet blotches and lines on either side of a prominent white crest, or white signal patch. The blades are oblong-obvate shaped (about 1.2 x 0.7 cm).[1] The standards are 1 – 1.5 cm long (often 3 lobed shaped).[1] [2] The flowers measure approx. 6.5–8 cm in diameter.

The bracts and bracteole are green with membranous tips and margins.

The fruits appear in late spring-early summer.[2]

Taxonomy

It was originally published as Iris kuschakewiczi by Boris Fedtschenko in 'Bull. Jard. Bot. Petersb.' v. 158 (Bulletin of St. Petersburg Botanical Garden) in 1905.[3]

In 1958, Petr Petrovich Poljakov re-published it as Juno kuschakewiczii in Fl. Kazakhst. 2: 249.[4]

In 1939, it was suggested this was a form of Iris narynensis, but when Mathew published "The Iris" in 1981, he retained it as a separate species.[5]

Iris kuschakewiczii is now an accepted name by the RHS.[6]

It was named after a Russian botanist 'A. A. Kuschakewicz' who worked with N. J. Korolkov in 1872,[7] and Boris Fedtschenko in 1873.[8] A. A. Kuschakewicz collected many plants in Turkestan and Central Asia.[9]

It is mentioned in D.J. Mabberley portable plant books of 1997.[10] [11]

Native

In 1905, Iris kuschakewiczii was found in Turkestan,[5] on the northern foothills of the Tien Shan Mountains of Central Asia.

It can be found on gravelly and rocky slopes, on the red-clay hills of Kazakhstan (on the north-western spurs of the Tien Shan).[1] [2]

It is also found in the Ala Archa National Park (25 km from the capital of Bishkek) of Kyrgyzstan.[12]

Cultivation

It is fairly easy to grow in cultivation, within an alpine house or bulb frame,[13] it does not need much moisture in summer.[14] It can be grown outside in a sheltered, sunny raised bed with well drained soils.[15] [16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: V.L. . Komarov . 1935 . Akademiya Nauk SSSR (FLORA of the U.S.S.R.) Vol. IV . 9 October 2014.
  2. Web site: Juno . flower.onego.ru . 11 October 2014.
  3. Web site: Iridaceae Iris kuschakewiczii B.Fedtsch. . 23 March 2012 . ipni.org (In) . 11 October 2014.
  4. Web site: Juno kuschakewiczii (B.Fedtsch.) Poljakov . 23 March 2012 . theplantlist.org . 11 October 2014.
  5. Web site: (SPEC) Iris kuschakewiczii B. Fedtsch. . 6 March 2010 . wiki.irises.org (American Iris Society) . 11 October 2014.
  6. Web site: Iris kuschakewiczii . www.rhs.org.uk. 11 October 2014.
  7. Web site: Korolkov, N. J. & Kuschakewicz . kiki.huh.harvard.edu . 11 October 2014.
  8. [Eduard August von Regel|Eduard Regel]
  9. Web site: Gentiana humilis Steven . science.mnhn.fr . 11 October 2014.
  10. D. J. Mabberley
  11. D. J. Mabberley
  12. Web site: Patrick . Hayes . Kyrgyzstan . kewguild.org.uk . 11 October 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141019021947/http://www.kewguild.org.uk/media/pdfs/v15s113p257-57.pdf . 19 October 2014 .
  13. British Iris Society (1997)
  14. Web site: Juno irises J-R . 11 May 2014 . pacificbulbsociety.org . 11 October 2014.
  15. Web site: Iris kuschakewiczii . 2011 . encyclopaedia.alpinegardensociety.net . 11 October 2014.
  16. Web site: Iris kuschakewiczii . rareplants.co.uk . 11 October 2014 . https://archive.today/20141011153854/http://www.rareplants.co.uk/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=494&P_ID=1360 . 11 October 2014 . dead .