Iris graminea scent

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net
Fri, 19 May 2006 16:38:08 PDT
I spent time today at a local public garden where one of my clubs is setting
up for a plant sale this weekend. 

Among the plants brought in for sale were some blooming clumps of Iris
graminea. The donor went on about the plum scent. I took a sniff, and all I
got was the waxy scent I get from the ones in the home garden. 

Several others present took a sniff. One claimed to get plum. The others
agreed that the scent, whatever it was, was not floral or fruity. 

Later in the day I took a walk around the public gardens - I encountered a
big patch of Iris graminea in full bloom. I got down on hands and knees and
checked it out. The scent was that same non-floral odor. 

It's possible that we all are growing the same clone or seed raised strain.
The plants and flowers certainly look very much alike. 

Also, when setting up the wiki entry for I. graminea, I noticed how much
Iris anguifuga looks like I. graminea. Are they closely related? Is I.
anguifuga simply the local I. graminea variant? 

Jim McKenney
Montgomery County, Maryland, UDA, USDA zone 7, where a huge bouquet of
garden peonies gives the house a luxurious, richly fragrant, late
nineteenth-century opulence. 


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