Re: CULT:Bulbous irises - "English"
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: CULT:Bulbous irises - "English"
- From: S* M* <7*@compuserve.com>
- Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 15:07:42 -0600 (MDT)
Jeff Walters wrote:
> My understanding is that the species ancestral to the "English" Iris a=
re
> native to the Pyrenees Mountains, which have a cooler and moister
climate
> than we usually associate with Spain. Only in song and rhyme does "the=
rain
> in Spain fall mainly in the plain"; as in most other areas, the rain i=
n
> Spain falls mostly in the mountains! (<:
That's correct. But it's a long story....
A number of species were imported from Spain and Portugal hundreds of yea=
rs
ago. One, which was native to the meadows of the Pyrenees Mountains,
readily acclimated to England's cool, moist habitat and more acidic soil
while other Xiphium species languished. Then, in the 16th century, the
famed French botanist Matthias Lobel saw it growing in England -- and it
became known as the "English Iris".
Although it had been in cultivation for many years, this was not one of t=
he
Linnean species. In 1768, Miller described it as I. latifolium. In 1792,=
Ehrhart described it as I. xiphioides. In his landmark 1892 monograph,
Baker described the Pyrenees species I. xiphioides as "the well-known
English Iris of the gardens, of which several colour-varieties were alrea=
dy
cultivated 250 years ago." Today, the accepted species name is I.
latifolia, acknowledging Miller's description as the earliest, and it is
generally accepted that the English Iris are descended solely from that
species. But I sure wouldn't want the task of proving it.... =
Perhaps more than you wanted to know, but the proverbial "bottom line" is=
that both English and Spanish Iris extend the bloom season. Although the=
y
are notoriously difficult to grow together, either one grows readily in a=
suitable climate. =
Sharon McAllister =
73372.1745@compuserve.com
