Iris orchioides


Iris orchioides, the 'orchid iris,' is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Scorpiris. It is a bulbous perennial, from the mountains of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It has dark green leaves, slender stems, up to 3 yellow flowers in spring. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Description

Iris orchioides grows up to tall.
Its stem is hidden by channeled leaves until the flowers fade.
It has between 5-7, dark green, broad leaves that grow up to 6-8 inches tall.
It has up to 3 yellow flowers on its stem. The flowers vary in shading, from deep yellow to creamy-yellow to a translucent pale yellow, between March and May.
It has a big winged haft and falls which are about 2-cm wide.
It also has hairs on the ridge of the falls. It has standards are 1/2 inches wide and linear.
It has cylindrical capsules and seeds without arils. These are similar to Iris bucharica and Iris warleyensis have cubiform seeds,

Taxonomy

It is commonly called the 'orchid iris'.
It is called 'Ukrop' in its native Kazakh.
It was first published and described by Élie-Abel Carrière in 'Revue Horticole'.
It was listed in 1995 in 'Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states ' by Czerepanov, S. K.
Iris orchioides is an accepted name by the RHS.
It is often mistakenly, to be a yellow form of Iris bucharica or Iris tienshanica also from Kazakhstan).
'Iris orchioides var. caerulea' is a synonym of Iris vicaria.
It was verified by United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service on 2 October 2014.
It is listed in the Encyclopedia of Life.
Iris orchioides is an accepted name by the RHS.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to temperate Asia.

Range

It is found in the mountains of Central Asia.
It has been found in Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Habitat

It likes the stoney soils of the foothills.

Cultivation

It is hardy to USDA Zone 5.
It is best grown in an alpine house of bulb frame.
It prefers to grow in full sun.

Known cultivars

Found in 1990, has canary-yellow flowers.
Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous, if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.