Caucasian iris

Description

Iris caucasica (also known as Caucasian iris) is a species of plant in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Scorpiris. Pronounced as 'kaw-KAS-ee-kuh'. It is a bulbous perennial It was described in 'Commentat. Soc. Phys.' to Caesareae Universitatis Mosquensis of 1808 by Georg Hoffman. It was once confused with iris orchioides, but iris caucasica is a smaller plant, with sessile flowers. Also it has leaves that have white margins. Iris caucasica is an accepted name by the RHS. It has a brown ovoid bulb with fleshy roots. It is similar in form to Iris persica. It has grey green leaves, which are ciliate and that start growing at flowering time. They reach up to 10–12 cm long and l-2 cm wide. The leaves have a faint white margin. It has between 1–4 flowers per stem, normally pale yellow or green and with winged falls. The falls also have a yellow ridge. The flowers are 5–15 cm (2–6 in) across. It flowers in late spring. It eventually reaches a height of 15 cm (flower and stem). The flowers are not fragrant. Iris caucasica grows on limestone mountain slopes (at 1200-3500m above sea level) in Turkey and Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the Caucasus mountains. Bieberstein notes seeing it near Tbilisi in the South Caucasus. It has also been found in Israel and Iran. In 1892, Michael Foster introduced a hybrid version Iris Caucasica 'Kharput'. Which does not have winged falls. It still has 4–5 flowers per stem, which are greenish-yellow. But they are generally larger than parent plant. Iris caucasica (or Sarı nevroz, a local name of Ovacık, Dersim) has been used a folk medicinal plant in Turkey. The flowers have been used in an infusion to treat colds. Iris is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. Some authors state that the name refers to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower.