Description
Iris acutiloba subsp. longitepala was first described in 2009 by Brian Mathew & Mehdi Zarrei from Iran, it was discovered at least as far back as 2005, perhaps earlier. It is illustrated and described in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 253–259, November 2009).
Iris acutiloba longitepala is endemic to Iran and is characterised by the very long and elongated tepals which lend a very elegant and graceful air to the flowers. The ground colour tends to be very variable but is almost always pale, giving a beautiful contrast with the intricate veining, which varies from pale brown through purple shades one way and to darker brown in the other direction. There is always a sharply contrasted signal patch on the falls next to a yellow-coloured, purple-tipped beard. As a rule, the standards tend to cross over each other in a loose spiral to further enhance a very characteristic and lovely flower with these standards sitting over the almost horizontal or deflexing falls.
New and still rare but every bit as easy to grow as Iris acutiloba lineolata.
Introduced to our lists June 2015
