Re: SPEC: Re: Iris foetidissima

In a message dated 98-01-28 23:38:38 EST, you write:

<<  I am not familiar with Iris foetidissima.  I once heard that it's
 > > blooms have an unpleasant scent, so I did not persue it any further. >>

I foetidissima, also known in olde English tymes as Gladdyn, the Gladwyn iris,
and Stinking Gladdon, a curious plant.  Actually, it is the foliage that is
said to smell unpleasantly of roast meat, and then only when bruised, but I
have bruised several different plants, as it were, and I don't detect anything
in the least offensive. Certainly it is nothing like, say, Dracunculus
vulgaris, the decadant bulb whose rude blooms are pollinated by flies. Perhaps
the species is variable in this as it is in so many things. Although it
thrives in semi-shade and damp, it will tolerate sun and some dryness. It
grows from Northern England to North Africa and although most plants don't
reach two feet, some plants in the warmer areas of California can reach four
feet in height. I got some seeds from a Zone 9 one and I am going to see if
they need stratification like all the ones grown around here have so far.

Anner Whitehead, Richmond, Va  Zone 7
Henry Hall  henryanner@aol.com
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