Iris scariosa (Leather iris)

Family Cruciferae. From the southwestern spurs of the Ural range (here I. scariosa occurs with I. pumila) across all northern Kazakhstan to the northeastern foothills of the Tien Shan, northwest China and the Mongolian Altai.

Close to I. pumila. Differs by its more sickle-shaped, intensely glaucous, stiff leaves; a two-flowered scape 5-8 (15) cm long; keeled, membranous bracts 4-5 (6) cm long that do not enclose the perianth tube, and a significantly shorter perianth tube (3-4 cm). Flowers 3.5-4.5 (5.5) cm in diameter, scentless or with a faint scent, mostly pale violet, ranging from deep violet to light bluish and almost white tones; very rarely individuals with yellowish-tinged flowers occur. The claw of the inner perianth segments equals the blade in length. Seeds dark brown, globoid-elongated, tapered at one end into a short beak, 4-5.5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide. 2n=24. Flowers in mid to late spring; fruits in mid to late summer.

In the mountainous districts of the eastern part of the range, in particular within the Dzungarian and Zaili Alatau and the Mongolian Altai, at elevations of 1500-2400 m above sea level, plants with strongly developed foliage and scapes 25-30 (40) cm long occur, described by E. Regel under the name I. euli-feldii Regel.

Although ornamentally I. scariosa is inferior to I. pumila, it can nevertheless be successfully used as an early-spring perennial for rock gardens. Its drought and salt tolerance and its ability to hybridize with other species of dwarf bearded irises make I. scariosa interesting for breeding work. When introduced to the north it behaves similarly to I. pumila, i.e., it is very sensitive to excessively wet soils.