Iris foetidissima

Iris foetidissima, the stinking iris,[1] gladdon, Gladwin iris, roast-beef plant, or stinking gladwin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae, found in open woodland, hedgebanks and on sea-cliffs.

Iris foetidissima
Flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Iris subg. Limniris
Section: Iris sect. Limniris
Series: Iris ser. Foetidissimae
Species:
I. foetidissima
Binomial name
Iris foetidissima

Its natural range is Western Europe, including England (south of Durham) and also Ireland, and from France south and east to N. Africa, Italy and Greece.[2]

Seeds

It is one of two iris species native to Britain, the other being the yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus).

It has tufts of dark green leaves.[1] Its flowers are usually of a dull, leaden-blue colour, or dull buff-yellow tinged with blue. The petals have delicate veining. It blooms between June and July, but the flowers only last a day or so.[3] The green seed capsules, which remain attached to the plant throughout the winter, are 5–8 cm (2–3 in) long; and the seeds are scarlet.

It is known as "stinking" because some people find the smell of its leaves unpleasant when crushed or bruised,[1] an odour that has been described as "beefy". Its common names of 'gladdon' and 'gladwyn' or 'gladwin', are in reference to an old word for a sword, (Latin 'gladius') due to the shape of the irises leaves.[3]

This plant is cultivated in gardens in the temperate zones. Both the species[4] and its cultivar 'Variegata'[5] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6]

Notes and references
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iris foetidissima.
  1. Richard Fitter, Alastair Fitter and Marjorie Blamey Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe (1996), p. 284, at Google Books
  2. Plants For A Future: Iris foetidissima
  3. Spencer-Jones, Rae; Cuttle, Sarah (2005). Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland. London: Kyle Cathie Limited. p. 88. ISBN 9781856265034.
  4. "RHS Plant Selector - Iris foetidissima". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  5. "RHS Plant Selector - Iris foetidissima 'Variegata'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 53. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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