Iris foetidissima

Iris foetidissima, the stinking iris,[1] gladdon, Gladwin iris, roast-beef plant, or stinking gladwin, is a species of iris found in open woodland, hedgebanks and sea-cliffs.

Iris foetidissima
Stinking iris flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Iris subg. Limniris
Section: Iris sect. Limniris
Series: Iris ser. Foetidissimae
Species:
I. foetidissima
Binomial name
Iris foetidissima

Its natural range is Western Europe, including England south of Durham and also Ireland, and from France south and east to N. Africa, Italy and Greece.[2]

Stinking Iris seeds

It is one of two iris species native to Britain, the other being the yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus).

It has tufts of dark green leaves.[1] Its flowers are usually of a dull, leaden-blue colour, or dull buff-yellow tinged with blue; the seed capsules, which remain attached to the plant throughout the winter, are 5–8 cm long; and the seeds are scarlet.

It is known as "stinking" because some people find the smell of its leaves unpleasant when crushed or bruised,[1] an odour that has been described as "beefy".

This plant is cultivated in gardens in the temperate zones. Both the species[3] and its cultivar 'Variegata'[4] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5]

Notes and references
  1. Richard Fitter, Alastair Fitter and Marjorie Blamey Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe (1996), p. 284, at Google Books
  2. Plants For A Future: Iris foetidissima
  3. "RHS Plant Selector - Iris foetidissima". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  4. "RHS Plant Selector - Iris foetidissima 'Variegata'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  5. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 53. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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