The salt marsh iris

Description

Iris halophila is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Limniris and in series Spuriae. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, with yellow, white or violet flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It comes from a wide range from eastern Europe to China in Asia. It was known for a long while as a subspecies of Iris spuria, before being treated as a separate species in its own right. It is similar in form to Iris orientalis but it is shorter. It has stout, thick, purple brown rhizomes, which can be 1.3–3 cm in diameter. Under the rhizome are thick roots. The rhizome spreads along the ground in a creeping habit. It has greyish-green, linear, erect, sword-shaped, leaves. That can grow up to 20–60 cm (8–24 in) long, and 0.7–2 cm wide. The leaves do not have a mid-vein. The leaves and foliage are sometimes longer than the flowering stems. Similar to Iris spuria, they also have the ability to produce an offensive smell, when the leaves are bruised. It has a smooth, 40–90 cm (16–35 in) long flowering stem. It has 1–4 very short lateral branches. The stems hold 3–8 flowers, 3–4 per stem, terminal (top of stem), in early summer, between May and June. The lanceolate and membranous at the top, spathes are 5.5–9 cm (2–4 in) long and 2 cm wide. It has flowers that are 5–7 cm (2–3 in) in diameter, ranging in colour from white, yellowish to grey purple, and violet. It has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals (outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or tepals), known as the 'standards'. It has fiddle=shaped falls, with a narrow section between the claw (section closest to the stem) and limb or blade (outer part). The claw is 2–3 cm long and 0.5 cm wide and the oblong or rounded limb is 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. Normally, the limb bends downwards. It has an erect, oblanceolate standard, which is 3.5 cm long and 6–8 mm wide. Some references mention pale to dark yellow forms with darker veining. This is Iris spuria subsp. halophila (Pall.) B.Mathew & Wendelbo. It has a 1.5–3 cm long pedicel, a short, 1 cm long perianth tube, 3 cm long stamens, yellow anthers and 3.5–4 cm long ovary. The style branches (in white or yellow, depending on the petal colour) are 3.5 cm long and 6 mm wide. They are as long as the claw of the petals.