Iridaceae
- Related Topics:
- iris
- crocus
- gladiolus
- blue-eyed grass
- freesia
Iridaceae, the iris family of flowering plants (order Asparagales), comprising 66 genera and around 2,200 species. The family is nearly worldwide in distribution, but it is most abundant and diversified in Africa. Most species are native to temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions. A few species grow in swampy locations, and a few withstand the rigours of subarctic substrates. The family contains a number of economically important ornamentals.
Physical description
Plants of the family Iridaceae are mostly perennial herbs, though there are a few shrubs and evergreen herbs as well. Most have long narrow leaves, generally with parallel venation. The underground stems may be one of at least three structural types: rhizomes, bulbs, and corms. In many Iris species the stem is horizontal, robust, and ringed with leaf-scars. It is a rhizome that often grows partially exposed but is firmly rooted in the soil.
Species of Iris native to southwestern Europe generally produce bulbs. This type of stem is short and conical and from it many leaf bases arise, one inside the other. These bases are seamless and constitute the bulk of the bulb. Bulblets arise from the stem, between the leaf bases, to propagate the plant.
The corm of Gladiolus is an underground stem in the shape of a doughnut without a hole. On the concave upper surface a small cluster of leaves is located. Among the leaf bases, cormlets arise to reproduce the plant. Rhizomes, bulbs, and corms are efficient in the vegetative reproduction of the Iridaceae.
Reproduction by seeds is also very important in the iris family and is essential in the development of new hybrids. In Crocus only one flower may develop from each corm, but in many other genera, as in Iris and Gladiolus, an inflorescence (flower cluster), sometimes branched, arises from the underground stem. The flowers commonly possess three sepals, three petals, and three broad pollen-receptive stigma branches, under which the pollen-producing anthers are hidden. These flower parts are located above the ovary (inferior ovary), which consists of three carpels unified into a single pistil. Ovules within the ovary portion become seeds, and the ovary matures into fruit. Members of the Iridaceae produce dry capsules, a fruit that splits open to release the seeds.
Bulbous irises may be stored under carefully controlled temperatures, and, when potted, they are brought into flower in cooler months of the year. Temperature also controls the opening of the crocus flower. When near the critical temperature, the perianth (sepals and petals) opens with an increase of less than 1 °F. Insects are the pollinators in the iris family, attracted by the showy flower parts. In some gladioli a coordination exists between certain moths and the shape of the flower. While hovering, the moth can reach to the base of the floral tube with its long tongue. Pollen already adhering to the body of the moth is left on the stigma, and fresh pollen sticks to the moth to be left in another flower.
Major genera and species
The genus Iris has about 300 species, a number of which are notable as attractive garden ornamentals. Best known are the bearded, or German, group—the common garden irises, many of which are hybrids. The water-loving Japanese iris (Iris ensata), frequently featured in Japanese watercolours. The yellow, or water, flag (I. pseudacorus) is a swamp plant native to Eurasia and North Africa; the blue flag (I. versicolor) occupies similar habitats in North America. Blackberry lily (I. domestica, formerly Belamcanda chinensis) is native to East Asia and is grown for its red-spotted orange flowers. Members of Iris also yield orrisroot (a substance used in the manufacture of perfumes, soaps, powders, and dentifrices).
A number of the 75 species in the genus Crocus are grown for their spring and autumn flowers, including spring crocus (Crocus vernus), Dutch yellow crocus (C. flavus), and silvery crocus (C. biflorus). The feathery stigmas of C. sativa yield saffron, which is used as flavouring and food colouring and as a medicinal ingredient.
Several other genera are also cultivated. The genus Gladiolus, with about 300 species, features several important horticultural and cut-flower species and hybrids. The blue-eyed grasses (Sisyrinchium), which are widely dispersed in the Western Hemisphere, are attractive plants for naturalistic gardens; the genus contains about 200 species. Plants of the genus Freesia are widely grown commercially for cut flowers.