Iris sanguinea f. albiflora is a perennial herb belonging to the Iris family. It has white flowers and high ornamental values for use as a cut flower. In addition, it is gaining popularity for landscaping in northeastern China because of its strong tolerance to cold and drought.
Until now, only two cultivars of I. sanguinea f. albiflora with a limited degree of phenotypical variations have been released. ‘White Skirt’ has white outer and inner perianths with wavy and serrated margins (Wang et al. 2019), and ‘Mi Lian’ shows inner perianths that tilt upward ∼30° (Yang et al. 2019). This contrasts with many more new cultivars of I. sanguinea, including cultivars with new flower colors such as NEFU-1 (Qi et al. 2020), Flower Angel (Fan et al. 2021), and Donglin Zi (Yang et al. 2022), as well as cultivars with new flower shapes such as Zi Meiren (Chen et al. 2019). With the increasing demands of the market, I. sanguinea f. albiflora is becoming a new and distinctive landscaping plant and cut flower. The limited number of new cultivars, however, calls for efforts to identify I. sanguinea f. albiflora with novel ornamental traits for broader landscaping applications. Here, we report Xiao Feidie, a new cultivar with an overall flower shape similar to a bamboo dragonfly or small flying saucer. The ornamental values of ‘Xiao Feidie’ may make it an important cultivar for landscaping.
Origin
Seeds of open-pollinated I. sanguinea f. albiflora were collected at the Mao-er Mountain Experimental Nursery of Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China, in 2008. Only I. sanguinea f. albiflora seeds were planted in the plot. Seeds were planted in the field plot in the spring of 2009. In 2011, a plant with a spoon-like outer perianth that was plat in horizontal was found. The plant was propagated asexually and grew in the same nursery during 2012 to 2016. Field trials were performed from 2016 to 2020. Because of the unique flower pattern, the new cultivar was named Xiao Feidie, and authorized by the American Iris Society with the accession number of 21-0391.
Description
Both ‘Xiao Feidie’ and its parent I. sanguinea f. albiflora were planted in the nursery of Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, China. In 2016, a total of 90 plants of each ‘Xiao Feidie’ and its parent I. sanguinea f. albiflora were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications, 30 plants per each replicate. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Color Chart (Royal Horticultural Society 2007) was used to record flower colors. Thirty plants were randomly selected from each genotype and fully open flowers were used to conduct the phenotypical measurements. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 22.0 software (Lenovo, Beijing, China).
The outer perianth of ‘Xiao Feidie’ is flat and shaped like a spoon, parallel to the ground. Although it is cuneate in the overall shape, the center is depressed into a groove (Fig. 1C). By contrast, the outer perianth of I. sanguinea f. albiflora is drooping in vertical (Fig. 1D). Similarly, the inner perianth of ‘Xiao Feidie’ and its parent I. sanguinea f. albiflora are obovate and vertically upward when it is in full bloom.
Flower anatomy of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (A) and I. sanguinea f. albiflora (B). Note the differences in outer perianths, inner perianths, style arms, and stamens. Representative flowers of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (C) and I. sanguinea f. albiflora (D).
Citation: HortScience 58, 5; 10.21273/HORTSCI17062-22
Flower anatomy of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (A) and I. sanguinea f. albiflora (B). Note the differences in outer perianths, inner perianths, style arms, and stamens. Representative flowers of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (C) and I. sanguinea f. albiflora (D).
Citation: HortScience 58, 5; 10.21273/HORTSCI17062-22
Flower anatomy of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (A) and I. sanguinea f. albiflora (B). Note the differences in outer perianths, inner perianths, style arms, and stamens. Representative flowers of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (C) and I. sanguinea f. albiflora (D).
Citation: HortScience 58, 5; 10.21273/HORTSCI17062-22
The height of ‘Xiao Feidie’ is ∼70.27 ± 0.25 cm, which is significantly higher than that of its parent I. sanguinea f. albiflora (57.56 ± 0.08 cm) (Table 1). Compared with I. sanguinea f. albiflora (58.45 ± 0.04 cm in length; 1.09 ± 0.06 cm in width), the leaves of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (74.94 ± 0.06 cm in length; 1.24 ± 0.05 cm in width) are slightly longer and wider. The flower diameter of ‘Xiao Feidie’ was 10.19 ± 0.06 cm, which is significantly larger than that of I. sanguinea f. albiflora (6.46 ± 0.01 cm). In addition, the inner perianth of ‘Xiao Feidie’ is shorter (4.20 ± 0.01 cm) and thinner (1.01 ± 0.01 cm) than that of I. sanguinea f. albiflora (4.66 ± 0.02 cm and 1.58 ± 0.01 cm). By contrast, the outer perianth of ‘Xiao Feidie’ is longer and thinner (5.80 ± 0.02 cm in length; 2.39 ± 0.16 cm in width) than that of I. sanguinea f. albiflora (4.92 ± 0.08 cm in length; 3.10 ± 0.15 cm in width) (Table 1; Fig. 1A and B). The flowers color of ‘Xiao Feidie’ (RHS 155C) is close to that of I. sanguinea f. albiflora (RHS NN155C) (Fig. 1C and D), both of which belong to the white group according to the RHS color chart, and exhibit light yellow (RHS 8B) at the base of the outer perianth. Both cultivars have white style arms and light yellow stamens (Fig. 1A and B). The flowering and fruiting periods of ‘Xiao Feidie’ are similar to I. sanguinea f. albiflora with flowering time from 5 Jun to 25 Jun, and fruiting time from 10 Aug to 20 Sep. No pest or disease damage was observed during the trials and both plants have fragrance-free flowers.
Morphological differences between ‘Xiao Feidie’ and I. sanguinea f. albiflora.
In conclusion, ‘Xiao Feidie’ is more attractive for its unique flower shape compared with I. sanguinea f. albiflora.
Cultivation Techniques
‘Xiao Feidie’ grows well and can survive in the field over winter in Mao-er Mountain Experimental Nursery of Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China. The best growth conditions include loam or light clay soil and full sunshine. Asexual propagation via division could be conducted in spring, summer, or early fall with 30 × 30-cm plant spacing. It was propagated asexually from May to August. Little management is needed after planting except for regular weeding.
Habit and Application
‘Xiao Feidie’ can be used for cut flowers and urban landscaping in northeastern China for its great ornamental values.
Availability
Inquiries about the research or request for ‘Xiao Feidie’ plant materials can be made to Dr. Ling Wang (E-mail: wanglinghlj@126.com) at the College of Landscape Architecture, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
References Cited
Chen, X, Liu, NX, Fan, LJ, Du, Y & Wang, L 2019 ‘Zi Meiren’: A new Iris sanguinea cultivar HortScience. 54 1435 1436 https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci13856-19
Fan, LJ, Gao, Y, Hasenstein, KH & Wang, L 2021 ‘Flower Angel’: A new Iris sanguinea cultivar HortScience. 56 617 618 https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci15703-21
Qi, XY, Fan, LJ, Gao, Y, Shang, YH, Liu, HY & Wang, L 2020 ‘NEFU-1’: A new Iris sanguine cultivar HortScience. 55 109 111 https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14578-19
Royal Horticultural Society 2007 Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart Royal Hort. Soc. London, UK
Wang, L, Liu, YJ, Liu, NX, Gong, Y, Li, YN & Wang, JH 2019 ‘White Skirt’: A new Iris sanguine cultivar HortScience. 54 1101 1103 https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13943-19
Yang, J, Li, FY, Zhou, S, Fan, LJ & Wang, L 2022 ‘Dong Lin Zi’: A New Iris sanguinea cultivar HortScience. 57 2 197 199 https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16263-21
Yang, J, Du, Y, Zhao, JJ & Wang, L 2019 A new Iris sanguinea cultivar ‘Mi lian’ Yuan Yi Xue Bao. 46 2843 2844 https://doi.org/10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2018-0674
