Talk:Iris purdyi

Type description
From The Book of the Iris p. 69, quoting Eastwood, but with the measurements converted to inches...

Rootstock slender, scarcely thicker than the fleshy root ; leaves dark green or somewhat glaucous, glabrous, erect or laxly spreading, surpassing the scapes 1/4 in wide, 8 to 16 in. long, with long acuminate apex and margins membraneous and shortly ciliate; scapes 6 to 8 in long, slightly flattened, bracts generally overlapping, inflated, glaucous, striate, tinged with rose colour, acuminate ; spathes usually two-flowered, similar to the bracts but more inflated and more rosy, especially on the margins ; pedicels not quite 1/2 in. long, about equalling the tube of perianth ; perianth with throat slightly dilated above the junction, of the style, falls oblong, 2 1/2 in. long, 2 3/4 in. wide, rich cream colour, beautifully marked with fine lines of yellow on the claw, and with dotted veins of purple on the spreading blades ; standards cream colour, somewhat shorter than the falls, widely spreading, linear oblong ; stamens with filaments 2 in. long, 1/12 in. wide, narrowing abruptly at the insertion of the anthers ; anthers 5/8 in. long ; style slender, about 1/2 in. long ; stigmas 1 1/2 in. long including the crests which are 1/2 in. long, laciniate on the outer edge, tinted with pale rose colour ; stigmatic lip truncate slightly undulate ; capsule oblong, tapering equally at both ends, valves nearly 1/2 in. wide and 1 1/4 in. long."

All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 20:50, 29 January 2015 (UTC).

Here is the original from Internet Archive.

Rootstocks slender, scarcely thicker than the fleshy roots; leaves dark green or somewhat glaucous, glabrous, erect or laxly spreading, surpassing the scapes, 6-7 mm. wide, 2-4 dm. long, with long, acuminate apex and mar- gins membranous and shortly ciliate, scapes 15-20 cm. long, slightly flattened; bracts generally overlapping, inflated, glaucous, striate, tinged with rose-color, acunriinate; spathes usually 2-flowered, similar to the bracts, but more inflated and more rosy, especially on the margins; pedicels i cm. long, about equal- ing the tube of the perianth; perianth with throat slightly dilated above the junction of the style; outer segments oblong, 7 cm. long, 2 cm. wide, rich cream-color, beautifully marked with fine lines of yellow on the claw, and with dotted veins of purple on the spreading blades; inner segments cream- color, somewhat shorter than the outer, widely spreading, linear-oblong, with margins strongly sinuate; stamens with filaments 5 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, narrowing abruptly at the insertion of the anthers; anthers 15-18 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, the polliniferous margins less than i mm. wide, edged on each side with purple; style slender, 12-15 mm. long, stigmas about 4 cm. long, including the crests, which are i \ cm. long, laciniate on the outer edge, tinted with pale rose-color to the ridge connecting the lobes of the stigma; stigma scale truncate, slightly undulate; capsules oblong, tapering equally at both extremities, valves about 12 mm. wide and 3 cm. long.

This elegant Iris is the species common in the Redwood region of Mendocino County, around Ukiah. It has here- tofore been included under /. Douglasiana^ which it re- sembles in its narrow, red-based, laxly spreading leaves, its cream-colored flowers, and its habitat. /. Douglasiana has always been considered an extremely variable species and includes a great number of forms, some of which may prove, as this had done, when carefully studied and com- pared, to be distinct species.

Iris Purdyi differs from other Californian species of Iris in the peculiar bract-clothed, flowering stems. From /. Douglasimia'W. differs in having larger flowers, leaves lighter green, less distinctly nerved, somewhat stiffer, and some- times glaucous. The stigma scale is truncate instead of triangular-acuminate. The stamens are much broader, the capsule shorter, broader, and more uniform at each ex- tremity. The flowers are fewer in the spathes, less exserted. and on shorter pedicels that elongate but little in age. It forms clumps similar to I. Douglasiana but not so widely spreading.

It is most fitting to name this species in honor of Carl Purdy of Ukiah, since he first detected its identity as a species entirely distinct from I Douglasiana and called at- tention to its peculiar characteristics.

Complete with OCR errors. 

All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 20:59, 29 January 2015 (UTC).