I. japonica is closely related to I. confusa,
and they look very similar, though not exactly
the same (most notably the spots around the
orange signal are different). The I. confusa article in the
AIS iris encyclopedia has an interesting discussion
of why it's called confusa (i.e. the initial confusion
between it and I. wattii and other crested iris).

Oh, and sorry for the double-posted picture -
computer weirdness...

Jean
in the now-rainy SF bay area, zone 9

On 2/14/2011 5:49 PM, Jan Lauritzen wrote:
>
>
> I thought the photo was of Iris japonica. It sure looked like the Nada I
> grow. Here are two photos of mine.
>
> Jan in Chatsworth
>
>
> On Feb 14, 2011, at 2:24 AM, r*@eecs.berkeley.edu
> <mailto:r*@eecs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>
> Iris confusa - the iris that doesn't look like an iris :-)
>
> This species is in the evansia family of iris, and is native to China.
> The arching flower stalks have numerous small white flowers, in appearance
> almost more like an orchid than an iris. They're often in bloom in March
> here in the bay area (this one is a bit early), and always draw lots of
> people over to the AIS booth at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show.
> They prefer shade, and are not freeze hardy, unfortunately.
>
> Jean
> awaiting the first rain of February
> in the SF bay area, zone 9
>