S. I. Ali & Brian Mathew

Iris milesii Credit: B. Mathew

Roots fleshy. Rhizomes thick, fleshy, greenish, annular scars left by earlier year's growth prominent. Rhizome bears a terminal leafy flowering stem and two lateral non-flowering leafy stems. The lateral stems become active shoots for next year's growth thus the old and the new rhizomes result in a series of dichotomies. Basal leaves 30-60 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, ribs prominent, pale-green. Branched flowering stems 30-90 cm tall, bearing shorter leaves than the sterile shoots. Bracts (in fruits) c. 2.5 cm. Flower c. 6-10 cm in diameter, pinkish-violet with darker spots. Falls with fringed yellow crest. Capsule stipitate, stipe 2.8-3.0 cm long, ovoid-cylindrical, c. 3.1-3.3 cm long. Seed black, pyriform.

Fl. Per.: May-July.

Type: Kulu, N.W. Himalayas, Aug. 1883, M. Foster (K).

Kashmir: Near Aish Mugam, 6000 ft., 14.7.1938, P.N. Kohli (K); C-7 Poonch, Bagh Tahsil, Spring 1952, A. Rashid (RAW); C-8 Poonch, Taulipir, 10.6.1954, Jan Mohammad (RAW).

Distribution: Kashmir eastwards to Kulu.