<h2><SPAN name="THE_IRIS" id="THE_IRIS"></SPAN>THE IRIS.</h2>
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<p class="drop-cap">IN botany this is the generic name of
a number of beautiful plants belonging
to the natural order of
<i>Iridaceæ</i>. The plants have a creeping
rootstock, or else a flat tuber, equitant
leaves, irregular flowers, and three
stamens. They are represented equally
in the temperate and hotter regions of
the globe. The wild species of iris are
generally called blue-flag, and the cultivated
flower-de-luce, from the French
<i>fleur de Louis</i>, it having been the device
of Louis VII. of France. Our commonest
blue-flag, <i>Iris versicolor</i>, is a
widely distributed plant, its violet-blue
flowers, as may be seen, upon stems one
to three feet high, being conspicuous
in wet places in early summer. The
root of this possesses cathartic and
diuretic properties, and is used by some
medical practitioners. The slender
blue-flag found in similar localities
near the Atlantic coast, is smaller
in all its parts. A yellowish or reddish-brown
species, resembling the
first named in appearance, is found
in Illinois and southward. There
are three native species which
grow only about six inches high and
have blue flowers. They are found in
Virginia and southward, and on the
shores of the great lakes; these are
sometimes seen as garden plants. The
orris root of commerce is the product
of <i>Iris Florentina</i>, <i>I. pallida</i>, and <i>I. Germanica</i>,
which grow wild in the south
of Europe; the rhizomes are pared and
dried, and exported from Trieste and
Leghorn, chiefly for the use of perfumers;
they have the odor of violets. The
garden species of iris are numerous,
and by crossing have produced a great
many known only by garden names.
The dwarf iris, <i>I. pumila</i>, from three to
six inches high, flowers very early and
makes good edgings to borders; the
common flower-de-luce of the gardens
is <i>I. Germanica</i>; the elder-scented
flower-de-luce is <i>I. sambucina</i>. These
and many others are hardy in our
climate, and readily multiplied by division
of their rootstocks. The mourning
or crape iris is one of the finest of
the genus, its flowers being very large,
dotted and striped with purple on a
gray ground. The flowers of most of
the species are beautiful. Some of
them have received much attention
from florists, particularly the Spanish,
English, and German, or common iris,
all corm-rooted species, and all European.
The Persian iris is delightfully
fragrant. The roots of all these species
are annually exported in considerable
quantities from Holland. The roasted
seeds of one species have been used as
a substitute for coffee.</p>
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