Beardless iris | |
---|---|
Iris sibirica | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Iridaceae |
Genus: | Iris |
Subgenus: | Iris subg. Limniris (Tausch) Spach |
Series | |
See text. |
Subgenus Limniris is one subgenus of beardless irises, which don't have hairs on their drooping sepals, also called their falls.
'Limniris' is derived from the Latin for marsh or living-in-lakes iris,[1] or pond iris. This refers to the fact that most species can be grown in moist habitats for part of the year.[2]
It was originally described by Tausch in Deut. Bot. Herb.-Buch (Deutsche Botaniker) in 1841.[3] Édouard Spach made changes 1846 in Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. (Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique).[4]
It was divided into sections, 'Limniris', which is further divided down to about 16 series, and 'Lophiris' (also known as 'Evansias' or crested iris).[5] They are both polyphyletic.[6] It has 45 species, which are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere.[3]
It is a group that has been recognized with few changes since Dykes's 1913 monograph on the genus Iris. Lawrence (1953), Rodionenko (1987) and then Mathew (1989) all tried to modify the group.[7]
Various authors have tried to classify the list in various ways. It is still undergoing study and variations.[7]