Iris sibirica

Iris sibirica was often confused with Iris sanguinea, another blue flowering Asian iris, but Iris sanguinea has unbranched stems, while Iris sibirica has branched stems.It has creeping rhizome (approximately 0.9–1.2 cm (0.35–0.47 in) diameter), forming a dense clumping plant. The rhizomes are covered with the brown remnants of old leaves, from previous seasons.It has green grass-like leaves, which are ribbed and can sometimes have a pink tinge at the base of the leaf. They can grow to between 25–80 cm (10–31 in) long and 0.4–0.6 cm (0.16–0.24 in) wide, normally shorter than the flowering stems. In Autumn, the foliage turns yellow and then dies back (in winter), to re-emerge in the spring.It has a hollow, slender, 1–3 branched stem, that grows up to between 50–120 cm (20–47 in) long. The stems bear 2–5 (normally three) flowers, at the terminal ends between late spring and early summer, between May and June.It has 3 brown paper-like spathes (leaves of the flower bud), that are reddish at the base, measuring between 3–5 cm (1–2 in) long.The flowers come in a range of blue shades. From violet-blue, to blue, and occasionally white. The flowers are 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in diameter.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 drooping obovate falls, measuring 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long and 2–2.5 cm wide, have a wide (or flaring) white blade or signal (central part of the petal) with dark-blue to violet veining. The white forms of the iris have a tinge of lavender and dark veining.The smaller narrow upright standards are between 4.5–5 cm (1.8–2.0 in) long and 1.5–1.8 cm wide.It has a light to dark blue-violet, circular perianth tube, about 1 cm long, pale blue style (about 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in) long), a pedicel between 1–15 cm long and a 1.5–2 cm roundly triangular, ovary.After the iris has flowered, it produces a short stubby seed capsule, which is roundly triangular with low ridges at angles, measuring 3–4.5 cm by 1–1.3 cm. Inside the capsule, are 2 rows of seeds, which are thin, flat, shaped like a capital 'D' and dark brown seeds, measuring about 5 mm by 3 mm.
BiochemistryEdit
It has been studied various times.As most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings. It has been count various times; 2n=28, Sim. 1928; 2n=28, Skalinska, 1961; 2n=28, Wcislo, 1964; 2n=28 Baerji, 1970; 2n=28, Sharma, 1970; 2n=28; Lovka & Sus. 1971; 2n=28, Love in November 71,  2n=28, Pop.& Cesch. 1975,1976; 2n=28, Wetschnig, 1988; 2n=28, Malakhova & Markova, 1994.
2n=28 is the most common listed count. This means it is genetically similar to Iris sanguinea and Iris typhifolia.

3-6 hours of sun per day, with protection from intense mid-day sun

Water moderately, allowing the top 3cm to dry out between watering.

Iris Sibirica

Iris sibirica

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