| Rush iris | |
|---|---|
| |
| Illustration of the Iris juncea by Walter Hood Fitch (Curtis’s Botanical Magazine) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Iris |
| Subgenus: | Iris subg. Xiphium |
| Section: | Iris sect. Xiphium |
| Species: | I. juncea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Iris juncea | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Diaphane stylosa Salisb. | |
Iris juncea (commonly called the rush iris) is a smooth-bulbed bulbous iris species. The name is derived from 'juncea' from the Greek word meaning 'rush-like'.[1]
It was first described by Jean Louis Marie Poiret in 1871.[2] It was then illustrated in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1898.[3]
Its flowers are light yellow[4] and fragrant. Normally 2 per stem in summer.[5] It flowers between June and July.[3]
It grows to a height of between 1 and 2 feet.[6] The 3mm wide leaves appear in the autumn and then fade before flowering.[5]
The bulb is reddish-brown in colour.[3]
It can be found in (Algeria and Tunisia) in North Africa,[7] Southern Spain and Sicily.[5]
Other varieties known include;[5]
- iris juncea var. merimieri (Lynch) Sulphur yellow flowers
- iris juncea var. numidica (Anon) lemon-yellow flowers (from Africa)[3]
- iris juncea var. pallida (Lynch) large soft yellow flowers
- ^ Stearn, William (1972). A Gardenerer's Dictionary of Plant Names. London: Cassell. p. 184. ISBN 0304937215.
- ^ "Iris juncea Poir". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Richard Lynch The Book of the Iris, p. 160, at Google Books
- ^ "New Garden Plants". Kew Bulletin (25–48): 47. 1890.
- ^ a b c d James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification, p. 259, at Google Books
- ^ William Robinson (2009). Hardy Flowers. Applewood Books. p. 150. ISBN 978-1429014434.
- ^ Martınez, Jorge; Vargas, Pablo; Luceno, Modesto; Cuadrado, Angeles (13 August 2010). "Evolution of Iris subgenus Xiphium based on chromosome numbers" (PDF). www.rjb.csic.es. Retrieved 1 August 2014.