Hermodactylus tuberosus was considered to be a monotypic genus of the Iridaceae family from the Mediterranean area. It is related to Iris at first glance, but its flowers lack the vexillum tepals. Flowers have a unique black and green-golden colour, and are slightly scented too. The Chase group at Jodrell labs at Kew, which has been studying Iris, has published results returning this genus to it. The new name is Iris tuberosa, which is what it was called before it became Hermodactylus tuberosus. Because most people will probably still know it under its previous name for awhile, we are listing it here and cross referencing it on the wiki Iris page.
Photos in habitat by Angelo Porcelli from Apulia. Occasionally, totally golden specimens can be seen as illustrated in the second photo.
The first photo by Kristina Van Wert is of one growing in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens bulb collection. The second photo was contributed by the UC Botanical Garden.
Iris index - Aril Irises - Belamcanda - Beardless Irises - Crested Irises - Garden Bearded Irises - Juno Irises - Pacific Coast Irises - Pardanthopsis - Reticulata Irises - Spanish Irises