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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{italic title}}{{taxobox
| name = ''Iris willmottiana''
| image =
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
| unranked_classis = [[Monocots]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Iridaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Iridoideae]]
| tribus = [[Irideae]]
| genus = ''[[Iris (plant)|Iris]]''
| subgenus = ''[[Iris subg. Scorpiris|Scorpiris]]''
| species = '''''Iris willmottiana'''''
| binomial = ''Iris willmottiana''
| binomial_authority = [[Michael Foster (physiologist)|Foster]]
| synonyms = {{Species list|Iris willmottiana|(M. Foster) |Juno willmottiana|(Foster) Vved.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iris willmottiana Foster | date= | url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-322589| publisher=theplantlist.org| accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref>}}
}}

'''''Iris willmottiana''''' is a species in the genus ''[[Iris (plant)|Iris]]'', in the subgenus [[Iris subg. Scorpiris|''Scorpiris'']]. It is a [[bulbous]] [[perennial plant|perennial]].

It was collected from [[Bukhara|Bokhara]] in Eastern [[Turkestan]] in 1899, by a plant collector on behalf of the Van Tubergen nurseries in [[Haarlem]], the [[Netherlands]].<ref>Audrey Le Lièvre {{Google books|jsqVOHPeIGIC| Miss Willmott of Warley Place: Her Life and Her Gardens | page= }}</ref> It was then sent to [[Michael Foster (physiologist)|Michael Foster]]<ref name=american>{{cite web|title=(SPEC) Iris willmottiana Fos.
| date=20 April 2010 |url=http://wiki.irises.org/bin/view/Spec/SpecWillmottiana |publisher=wiki.irises.org (American Iris Society)| accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref> who then first published and described it in the 'Gardeners Chronicle' of London' in 1901.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iris| page=143| url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=439262-1 |publisher=ipni.org (International Plant Names Index) |accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref>

He named it after [[Ellen Willmott]], a renowned gardener. It is one of 60 or so plants named after her.<ref name=hillkeep>{{cite web|title=IRIS FLEUR-DE-LYS Iridaceae (Iris family) |date=12 May 2008 |url=http://www.hillkeep.ca/bulbs%20iris.htm| publisher=www.hillkeep.ca| accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref> Mr Foster chose Mrs Willmott due to her interest in irises.<ref name=american/>

It was later illustrated in colour in [[Curtis's Botanical Magazine]], plate number 8340, in 1912.<ref name=american/>

''Iris willmottiana'' is now an accepted name by the [[Royal Horticultural Society|RHS]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Iris willmottiana |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/9403/Iris-willmottiana/Details |publisher=www.rhs.org.uk| accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref>

It is [[Hardiness (plants)|hardy]] to [[USDA]] Zone 3.<ref name=European>James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) {{Google books|CkxWrDqtWLQC|The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification|page=259}}</ref>

Although the plant is quite hardy, in the UK, it is better cultivated in a [[bulb frame]].<ref name=hillkeep/> or [[Alpine house]], but has been grown outside.<ref name=alpine>{{cite web| title=Iris willmottiana | year=2001| url=http://encyclopaedia.alpinegardensociety.net/plants/Iris/willmottiana | publisher=encyclopaedia.alpinegardensociety.net | accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref>

It prefers to grow in sandy loam,<ref name=glc>{{cite web| title=Great Lakes Chapter, North American Rock Garden Society Fall Newsletter |date=September 2006 |url=http://glcnargs.com/Newsletters/2006%20fall%20newsletter.pdf |format=pdf| publisher= glcnargs.com | accessdate=30 September 2014}}</ref> with good drainage and in full sun.<ref name=rareplants>{{cite web|title=Iris willmottiana |date= |url=http://www.rareplants.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=611&strPageHistory=related| publisher= rareplants.co.uk |accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref>

Iris willmottiana, Iris willmottiana 'Alba' and [[Iris warleyensis]] (named after Miss Willmotts garden in Essex), are all easier to find in the US than in England.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenprojects/3310290/Country-notebook-Ellen-Willmott.html|title=Country Notebook: Ellen Willmott|first=Germaine|last=Greer|authorlink=Germaine Greer|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=19 April 2003|accessdate=12 April 2010}}</ref>

The plant listed as Iris willmottiana 'Alba', is now thought to be a white form of [[Iris bucharica]].<ref name=European/><ref name=alpine/>

It can produce hybrids very easy with [[Iris magnifica]] and [[Iris graeberiana]].<ref name=glc/>

==Habit==
''Iris willmottiana'' is very similar in form to that of [[Iris caucasica]]. Sharing similar size, shape, leaf margin but having smaller flowers.<ref name=american/>

It has thickened roots.<ref name=alpine/>

It generally grows to a height of between {{convert|15|–|25|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} tall,<ref name=hillkeep/> in late spring or early summer.<ref name=alpine/>

It has about 2 - 6 flowers on a short stem.<ref name=cassidy>{{cite book |last1=Cassidy |first1=G.E.| last2=Linnegar |first2=S.|date=1987 |edition=Revised |title= Growing Irises|url= |location=Bromley |publisher=Christopher Helm |page=146 |isbn=0-88192-089-4 }}</ref>

The large flowers (about 6–7 cm in diameter),<ref name=alpine/> come in various shades of blue, from intense cobalt blue,<ref name=rareplants/> pale lavender-blue,<ref name=pacific>{{cite web| title=Juno irises S-Z| date=14 April 2014 | url=http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/JunoIrisesThree | publisher= pacificbulbsociety.org | accessdate=29 September 2014}}</ref> pale purple,<ref name=alpine/> to light purple.<ref name=European/>
The flowers are also blotched with white,<ref name=European/> and flecked deep lavender-purple,<ref name=alpine/>
The falls have a large white area and white crest or central ridge with purple marks.<ref name=pacific/> The standards are about 1.5 cm long.<ref name=European/>

It has broad leaves that are glossy lustrous green, that appear in May.<ref name=hillkeep/><ref name=alpine/><ref name=pacific/> The leaves also have a thin white margin on the edges.<ref name=american/>

==Native==
''Iris willmottiana'' is from Central Asia and (the former Russian state),<ref name=cassidy/> of [[Kazakhstan]].<ref name=hillkeep/><ref name=European/>
It grows wild in the stony foothills of the [[Pamir mountains|Pamir mountain]] range,<ref name=hillkeep/> at around 2900m above sea level.<ref name=pacific/>
It has been found on [[Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve|Aksu Zhabagli]],<ref name=pacific/><ref>{{cite web |title=Celestial Silk Road 5th-21st June 2016 |url=http://www.viranatura.com/Product_100001_Celestial-Silk-Road-5th-21st-June-2016 |publisher=viranatura.com |accessdate= 26 May 2015}}</ref> and [[Karatau Mountains]], in Kazakhstan.<ref name=rareplants/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Other sources==
* British Iris Society, 1997, A Guide to Species Irises: Their Identification and Cultivation, page 275
* Mathew, B. 1981. The Iris. 143.

==External links==
*[http://www.signa.org/index.pl?Display+Iris-willmottiana+5 Image from Species Iris Group of North America]
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/octodonta/8671603306/ Photo on flickr]

{{Commons category-inline|Iris willmottiana}}
{{Wikispecies-inline|Iris willmottiana}}

[[Category:Iris (plant)|willmottiana]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1901]]
[[Category:Flora of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of Kazakhstan]]

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