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Iris afghanica

Iris afghanica is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Regelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Afghanistan, with thin bluish-green leaves and creamy yellow or white flowers, that are veined with purple-brown. It has yellow-green or purple beards. Although, in the wild, it can vary in colour and size. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Description
It has a small brown rhizome. Underneath, are long thin secondary roots. which can be up to across. which have a narrow white, membranous inner margin. It has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals (outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or tepals), known as the 'standards'. The cream or white, drooping falls have a central purple signal patch, surrounded by purple-brown veining. In the centre of the petal is a beard of greenish yellow or purple hairs. The pale yellow upright standards, are long, they have a beard of greenish hairs on the lower part. As mentioned before, the plants can vary in colour due to altitude, the lower altitude plants can have pure white standards. It has a short style arm (above the falls) that is yellow, and veined with pale green. After the iris has flowered, it produces a seed capsule, which has not been described. Biochemistry As most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes, this can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings. It has been counted twice, as 2n=22, by Gustafsson & Wendelbo, in 1975 and 2n=22, by Johnson & Brandham in 1997. It is commonly published as 2n=22. == Taxonomy==
Taxonomy
The Latin specific epithet afghanica refers to the country of Afghanistan, (where the iris comes from). In 1964, it was found by Rear Admiral Paul Furse and his wife Polly, in Afghanistan, on the northern side of the Salang Pass in the Hindu Kush, north of the city of Kabul. They initially thought that the iris was similar to Iris darwasica. Later in 1966, on another plant hunting trip, they found more specimens of the iris and realised it was a new species. It was first published and described by Per Wendelbo in 'Findings of the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh' (Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh) Vol.31 Issue 2, page 338 in 1972.