Iris Timofeeva

Family Cruciferae. A rare Caucasian species. Found in the mid-mountain region of Dagestan. It grows in large, 30-40 and even 70-90 cm across, dense tufts on very dry, calcium-rich, sun-exposed mountain rocky slopes of southern aspect.

Close to I. scariosa; these species are even similar in chromosome number (2n=24) in somatic cells; it also bears a two-flowered, not single-flowered, scape as indicated in "Flora of the USSR" (1935, vol. IV, p. 546). Differences: the bracts almost completely cover the perianth tube; the basal leaves are even more steeply falcate-curved, and the flowers are colored in markedly deeper bluish-violet tones; the claw is shorter (its length does not exceed 2/3 of the length of the inner segment of the perianth); the pollen is distinctly different, its outer coat being verrucose (warty), whereas the exine of the pollen grains of I. scariosa is reticulate. Blooms in mid to late spring; fruits in mid or late summer.

It can be successfully crossed not only with dwarf bearded iris species, but also with species of the subsection Oncocyclus. The flower of I. timofejewii stands out from the flowers of related species by the clarity of its pattern and the proportionality of all parts. In hybridization it reliably transmits its characteristics. Difficult in cultivation, especially in regions with increased humidity. Early attempts to cultivate it in West Germany and in the USA (at the latitude of New York) were unsuccessful. In St. Petersburg, after initial failures, it was possible to get it to grow on rock gardens by reducing soil moisture in the second half of summer (covering it from rain with film or glass). Here the plants in the first season change beyond recognition: the scape reaches 20-26 cm in height, the flowers fade, and the leaves lose their falcate shape — a species characteristic.