Iris proantha (Iris proantha)
Description
Iris proantha is a beardless iris in the genus Iris, in the subgenus Limniris and in the Chinenses series of the species. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial. It is written as 小鸢尾 in Chinese script and known as xiao yuan wei in China. It has the common name in (China) of 'small iris'. It was first published and described by Freidrich Diels in the 'Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift Utgifven af Svenska Botaniska Foreningen' (of Stockholm) Issue xviii, p427 in 1924. It was found in Kiangsu (now known as Jiangsu) and Ankwei (now known as Anhui) of China. In his original description, Diels noted that it had no appendages on the outer perianth lobes, this meant the iris is part of the Apogon Section of the Limniris subgenus. But he was mistaken and the plant does have an appendage. It was found that Diels had made his description due to a pressed specimen. In 1989, Iris pseudorossii (before it was found to be a synonym of Iris proantha), was found in Baishui, past Nga-ba village. It is mentioned in the RHS journal, 'New Plantsman' (in 2000). It was later verified by United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service on 4 April 2003. In 2007, it was found in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh by Bhaumik and Pathak. As most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings. It has a chromosome count: 2n=50, and 2n=44, Mao & Xue, 1986. Iris proantha is not cultivated in Europe. Iris proantha and Iris speculatrix can be found in Hangzhou Botanical Garden and in Tianmu Mountain National Nature Reserve, close to Hangzhou. In 2012, the plants of the Hangzhou West Lake Area from Zhejiang Province lists Iris proantha.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Iridaceae
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Genus: Iris
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