Iris furcata or forked iris

Family Cruciferae. Occurs in the foothills of the North Caucasus on slopes of various exposure, light conditions and soil moisture.

On dry, sun-exposed mountain terraces plants with a single-flowered scape are encountered, often mistaken for I. pumila. As a result of later flowering of I. furcata, in areas of co-occurrence with I. pumila it usually does not produce interspecific hybrids.

Close to I. aphylla. Differs by its narrower and straighter leaves 5-10 (15) mm wide; a thin graceful scape, usually branching not at the base but above the middle; flowers smaller in size but more densely colored in violet-reddish tones; a small capsule 3-4 cm long, obtuse at the apex; seeds smaller, 4-5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; 53-56 seeds per 1 g (in I. aphylla 32-35 seeds per 1 g). 2n=24. Flowers in late spring–early summer; fruits in late summer.

In cultivation in the north (for example, in Saint Petersburg) it requires dry, slightly shaded sites. Good for hybridization (as a paternal form) with other bearded iris species and their cultivars, as it reliably transmits traits.

In the foothills of the North Caucasus the most typical forms of I. furcata are found, which contain half as many chromosomes in root cells as I. aphylla plants (2n=48) from the forest-steppe regions of the European part of Russia. In Transcaucasia plants of an intermediate type between I. furcata and I. aphylla are more often observed.