IBFox 2012
Gorgeous flowers of deep violet with a dark-blue velvety tip to the fall and a delicate yet perfusive, violet scent. Many commercial stocks of this lovely Reticulata section species under this name are hybrid. The true wild form is becoming increasingly rare. Ours are true, raised from stock first collected by J.J. Manissadjian in Mardin, Turkey in 1935. Stocks of this, the true plant, are always very limited. Because they are not hybrid, the bulbs are not as large, nor as vigorous, as other bulbs that you might see masquerading under this name. Iris bakeriana is from southern Turkey, northern Iraq, and western Iran where it grows on stony hillsides. It has bluish lilac standards and styles. Falls are white with deep blue tips, lines, and blotches. This species has nearly cylindrical leaves unlike other reticulata species.