The Botanical Magazine/Volume 2/58

by William Curtis

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[58] Iris Spuria. Spurious Iris.

Class and Order.

Triandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Corolla 6-petala, inæqualis, petalis alternis geniculato-patentibus. Stigmata petaliformia, cucullato-bilabiata. Conf. Thunb. Diss. de Iride.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

IRIS spuria imberbis foliis linearibus, scapo subtrifloro tereti, germinibus hexagonis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. p. 91. Jacq. Fl. austr. tab. 4.

IRIS pratensis angustifolia, folio fœtido. Bauh. Pin. 32.

The greater blue Flower-de-luce with narrow leaves. Park. Parad. p. 184.

N^o58

Some plants afford so little diversity of character, that an expressive name can scarcely be assigned them; such is the present plant, or Linnæus would not have given it the inexpressive name of spuria, nor we have adopted it.

This species is distinguished by the narrowness of its leaves, which emit a disagreeable smell when bruised, by the colour of its flowers, which are of a fine rich purple inclining to blue, and by its hexangular germen.

It is a native of Germany, where, as Professor Jacquin informs us, it grows in wet meadows; is a hardy perennial, thrives in our gardens in almost any soil or situation, flowers in June, and is propagated by parting its roots in Autumn.