The leaves are finely and irregularly ribbed, ensiform, narrow, acute. 2.5 to 3.7cm is the normal width range but one measurement was 4.8cm wide. Length is up to 67cm. (D. Kramb, 05-SEP-04)
The stem is up to 123cm long and rarely under 1m with 2-3 basal leaves clothing the lower part with usually 2 short and rather bract-like and sheathing stem leaves above. There are normally 2-3 branches subtended by rather short bracts which, in the case of the upper two, are, or soon become, more or less wholly scarious. Even the lowest bract is seldom over 6cm long. Only one 4-branch stem was seen and this had an untypically foliate bract and was produced from quite low on the stem, for usually branching starts from high up; for example, on the shortest stem I measured, 88cm, a 2-branched one, the lower branch was set at 68cm. (D. Kramb, 05-SEP-04)
The spathe valves at the apex are scarious by the time flowering starts, and those on the branches soon become so. Usually about 4cm long with the inner valve longer, though at one location it could be that the inner valve is significantly longer than the measurement given, 2 or 3 flowers are born at the apex with roughly equal frequency and very often two on each branch, though with 3-branched stems the uppermost is likely to be single flowered. (D. Kramb, 05-SEP-04)
The overy seems rather short, about 1.5-1.8cm long and 0.6cm wide. The tube was, in all cases noted, green and sparsely spotted at the top. This differs from Dykes' description of faint broken purple stripes, but may not be relevant, as one could be interpreted as the other. The tubes are 2.5-3cm long. (D. Kramb, 05-SEP-04)
The falls exhibit some degree of variation. Some are very wedge-shaped but others are not so accentuated. The size is generally large, almost 10cm long, and 4-4.9cm wide. The standards are 7.5-9cm long and 4.3cm wide. The styles are about 3.9cm long by 1.9cm wide with a crest 1.1-1.3cm long. The filaments are distinctly longer than the anthers which are normally 1.5-1.6cm long. (D. Kramb, 05-SEP-04)
The seed pod is very large, about 11cm long by 3.5-4cm wide. It is a long oval tapering equally at both ends, somewhat triangular in cross-section, with 6 grooves. The seeds are irregularly pyriform to somewhat D-shaped, brown, wrinkled, about 8mm x 5mm. They germinate easily. (D. Kramb, 05-SEP-04)
Species Iris Group of North America
