Iris narbutii

Iris narbutii has a brown bulb with papery tunic, It has thickened roots, The thin, channelled dark green leaves emerge before the flowers, they are 5–25 mm wide (close to the base of the plant). The yellow zone can sometimes have a dark purple ring around it. It has whitish pollen. ==Taxonomy==

It is sometimes misspelt as 'Iris narbuti'. It was first published as Juno narbutii by Olga Fedtschenko in 'Izvestiya Imperatorskago Obscestva Ljubitelej Estestvoznanija, Antropologii i Etnografii, Sostojascago pri (Imperatorskom) Moskovskom Universitete' in 1902. It was later published as Iris narbutii by Boris Fedtschenko in Bull. Jard. Bot. St. Petersb. Vol.V on page 157 in 1905. Iris narbutii is now an accepted name by the RHS. It is listed in 1995 in 'Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR)' by Czerepanov, S. K. It may have been named after 'Narbuta Beg'(1774-1798), a grandson of 'Abd al-Karim' (Khanate of Kokand) of the Fergana Valley, Central Asia, where the iris was found. ==Native==

Iris narbutii is from Central Asia. Originally found on the slopes of Syr-Darya river valley. It is found on the rocky, gravelly slopes of the mountains of western Tien Shan and southern Pamir Mountains. Also seen near to Samarkand and Tashkent. Olga Fedtschenko had speculated that the plants from west Tien Shan, could be a separate species, due to their paler colour. In Chulbair Mountains, Uzbekistan, it is a threatened species and close to extinction. ==Cultivation==

It can be seen growing in the 'Le Grand Clos Botanique Garden' in Bourgueil, France. It can be cultivated in pots, or in well-drained soils in sunshine (like other Juno irises). ==Known hybrids==

• Iris narbutii 'Kara Kaga' In Russia, Vvedenskii had noted several natural hybrids including; • J. narbutii x J maracandica (near Jizzak, Uzbekistan), • J. narbutii x J. Orchioides and • J. narbutii x J. subdecolorata (near Darbaza, Kazakhstan). ==References==