Flora of New Zealand Series

Evergreen perennial, with rhizomes (sympodial), or bulbous. Leaves equitant, ensiform, distichous. Cyme shortly branched, few-flowered. Flowers pedicellate, large and showy, blue, violet, white or yellow, in clusters of 2 or more, (or solitary), terminal flowers within 2 spathe-valves, lateral within a single valve; tube bright green, usually short; segments (each consisting of broader "limb" and narrow basal "claw" or "haft") in 2 whorls; 3 outer (falls), usually reflexed or spreading, 3 inner (standards), usually erect and often incurved, or spreading. Stamens 3, inserted at base of outer segments. Style-branches broad, petaloid, ± deeply bifid at tip, curved over stamens and concealing them, stigma a small flap situated on underside of petaloid style-branch just below bifid "crest". Capsule coriaceous, ovoid-oblong. Seeds many, globular, ± compressed. Spp. c. 300, from temperate regions of N. Hemisphere. Adventive spp. 5.

I. laevigata Fischer et C. A. Meyer has been once collected growing wild on the bank of the Avon River, Christchurch - A. J. Healy 54/496, 30.12.1954 (CHR 83325). This blue-flowered water iris can be distinguished by the large obovate limb of the outer perianth-segments.

I. susiana L. was recorded by Kirk (T.N.Z.I. 10, 1878, 376) as "not infrequent on the sites of abandoned homesteads", but Healy (T.R.S.N.Z. 85, 1958, 538) noted that it did not persist. Also known as the "Mourning iris"I. susiana has very large grey silky flowers with a deep red-black patch on the outer segments. It is difficult to grow even in cultivation hence it is unlikely to become established.

Fig. 21. IRIS: A flower, A 1 side view details, A 2 from above: a - standard, b - fall, c - beard, d - petaloid style-branch, e - stigma, f - stamen, g - spathe-valve. © All rights reserved. [Image: 26X7]