Iris orjenii

Orjen Iris (Iris orjenii )

The Orjen sword lily or Orjen Iris (Iris orjenii ) is a species of bearded iris in the Family Iris Family ( Iridaceae ). It is an endemic species of the high altitudes of the mountains Orjen in Montenegro and Herzegovina.

Description

It is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches the heights of growth between 35 and 50 cm. The upright stem is round and slightly branched. The leaves are distichous riding.

The perianth is off-white, veined brown with sometimes irregular small purple dots and only at the base. The beard on the outer perianth is yellow. The stamens are as long as the anthers. The bracts are trockenhäutig at the edge.

Occurrence

The species occurs in the Southeast Dinarides ago in Mediterranean Orjen mountains above the tree line in sparse snakeskin pine forests. It is found in the alpine Seslerion robustae stage in grass meadows and tall herb communities. Here it is found locally too often in larger groups associated with Heracleum sphondyllum, Sesleria robusta, asphodel albus and Lilium martagon var cattaniae

The Orjen iris is an alpine plant that grows on the southern Adriatic coast in the summer dry karst mountains. It grows on sunny slopes in the not too poor soils, which distinguishes them from the area sympatric iris, Iris reichenbachii that grows primarily on very stony soils of the alpine initial stage.

Endangering

As an endemic species with only two known local sources and the risks related to potential plant collectors who Orjen Sword lily is listed as endangered by IUCN.

Cultivation

Until now, the Orjen iris is not yet in culture and maintained in just a few botanical gardens ( alpinum Munich Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden Jevremovac, Botanical Garden Bonn, Botanical Garden Zagreb, Botanical Garden Pruhunice ). They would be suitable for rock gardens but also as medium-sized shrub in borders.