Iris boissieri

It flowers in June. It normally has only one flower per stem. The flower is blue-purple (or deep purple), == Taxonomy==

It is also known as the 'yellowbeard iris'. In 1877, Mr A.W. Tait (from Porto, Portugal) sent the bulbs to Sir Michael Foster who grew them in the UK. It was first described in 1885 by Portuguese botanist Julio Augusto Henriques in Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana Vols. 1-28. It was also described by Mr Foster in 'The Gardeners' Chronicles' of 1887, vol. ii. page38. It was then described in Curtis's Botanical Magazine 7097 in 1890 again by Mr Foster. ==Distribution and habitat==

Iris boissieri is native to Europe. Habitat It likes to grows in rocky shallow soils, at an altitude of above sea level. ==Conservation==

It was on the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. It was listed on the European Red List of Vascular Plants in 2011 as Data Deficient (DD). Very few plants (less than a 1000) were found in Spain in 2004 and less than a 10,000 plants were found in Portugal. Also these numbers were gradually going down as well. Iris boissieri was listed on Annex IV of the Habitats Directive (of the European Union). It was therefore assessed as 'Critically Endangered'. ==Cultivation==

It is best grown in a bulb frame. Hybrids and cultivars Emily Jean Stevens (1900–1967) was a hybridiser of Iris boissieri and Iris juncea in the 1950s. ==References==

• Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. (Iris) 135. • Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora europaea. (F Eur) ==External links==