Re: unusual Iris delavayi?

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Ken,

both would seem to be I. clarkei, not I. delavayi, or possibly a hybrid(?).  The former tends to horizontal stands, while delavayi's are considered oblique, which I interpret as more upright.  In the descriptions there is a big difference in stature.  I. delavayi is over a meter tall, up to 150cm, while I. clarkei is around 60cm. In other fotos of I. delavayi I've seen, the falls seemed more truncated at their tips, reminiscent of I. bulleyana. Still, these could have been hybrids!

Descriptions aside, I have found many incorrectly marked plants at Kew over the decades and take the designations with a grain of the proverbial salt.  Original plants may have died out and been replaced by hybrid seedlings, markers repositioned by visitors, etc.  As is the case with most botanical garden, the staff that does the planting often has only a non-blooming plant and a sign (often non-permanent).  Mix-ups happen.

I've been trying to collect the 40-chr. species and often find the seed producing non-definable plants.  Clearly, OP hybrids are common or collections are incorrectly ID/defined.  A loverly crap shoot!

Jamie

Cologne

I saw what I thought was an interesting Iris delavayi at Kew Gardens. The first photo shows flowers with standards deflexed so they are below the falls (you can see a wider crop at http://www.signa.org/index.pl?Display+Iris-delavayi+4 if you are interested). The second photo is of a different clone at Kew. It is only partly open, but I think the standards will simply be "spreading" as seems more common for this species.

Ken Walker
Concord, CA USA