IRIDACEAE

0160 IRIS XIPHIUM - Bulbous Iris - Dutch Iris

This is a beautiful bulbous plant that has narrow, lance shaped leaves and flowers in blues, mauves, white and yellow and which are held aloft up to 60-70cms. They make excellent cut flowers and produce colour in the otherwise duller months of late winter. Many hybrids have been created from this species - generally referred to as Dutch Irises. FROM: Gardens On Line - Plant Finder IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2008

0161 BEARDED IRIS - Agatha Christie

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. Three Iris varieties are used in the Iris flower data set outlined by Ronald Fisher in his 1936 paper The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems as an example of linear discriminant analysis. FROM: Wikipaedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: OCTOBER 2007. Mt Tomah Gardens