I. uniflora
- Subject: I. uniflora
- From: D*@prodigy.com (MR ROBERT R PRIES)
- Date: Sat, 10 Feb 96 15:27:43 MST
To Ian Black and Kathryn Mohr;
If Iris uniflora is in the series Ruthenicae than it is supposed to
have teardrop shaped seeds with a fleshy protuberance on the end.
Iris sanguinea of course has flattened seeds which are shiny and have
no aril like protuberance. Sadly this is not a great trait for
separating plants that may not even be in bloom. The other problem
is does Iris uniflora even exist. Mathew seems to believe it is
simply a form of Iris ruthenica. I wonder if Brian really had access
to the plant that Zhao calls uniflora. Zhao says uniflora has six
prominant ribs on the capsule while Mathew says all the Ruthenicae
can be distinguished by the lack of ribs on the capsule. Clearly
they must be looking at different plants. The pictures that Waddick
brought back from China of uniflora show a plant growing in short
grassland which I suspect would dry out in summer. Mathew states
that ruthenica can not tolerate drying out, which is how I lost my
plant one summer. Clearly Iris uniflora is an intriquing name and
until we can be sure we have the plant that Zhao is referring to,it
will be impossible to settle this enigma. I hope I havent confused
you all the more but it is fun to discover areas that are still
unknown about iris. Bob Pries.
