Iris sanguinea is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Iridaceae family and exhibits an exquisite plant morphology, compact flower structure, robust disease resistance, and exceptional ornamental value. It is commonly used as a groundcover and for cut flowers. In recent years, multiple I. sanguinea cultivars have been developed and released, exhibiting diverse floral patterns. For example, the outer perianth of cultivar Donglin Zi exhibits a purplish red coloration with a white edge (Yang et al. 2022). Cultivar Qihuan Zi exhibits tricoloration at full bloom (Fan et al. 2022). Cultivar Dream of the Butterfly has a pale purple flower with a wide outer perianth (Zhao et al. 2018). Cultivar Xiao Feidie has a white flower with a flat, spoon-like outer perianth (Liu et al. 2023). Cultivar Mini Fen has a dark pink flower color and short plant stature (Fu et al. 2022).
In 2017, a novel cultivar of I. sanguinea named Yise Ziqun was identified. The inner and outer perianth of this novel cultivar have different shapes and colors. The outer petals exhibit a nearly circular shape and are deep purple in color (RHS N87A), with undulating edges and a drooping posture when fully bloomed, featuring wedge-shaped claws. The inner perianth has an oval shape, light purple in color (RHS N87C), with undulating edge folds. The style branches are of a light purple shade (RHS N87C) and display a blue midrib (RHS 82B).
Origin
In 2003, the seeds of I. sanguinea were introduced from Shenyang Botanical Garden and subsequently planted in the nursery of Maoershan Experimental Forest Farm at Northeast Forestry University during the spring season. The seeds of open-pollinated I. sanguinea were harvested in 2011 and subsequently planted in the same nursery during Spring 2012.
In 2017, exceptional individual plants were identified among F1 plants, exhibiting distinctive flower colors characterized by dual-color outer and inner perianth, with deep purple outer perianth and light purple inner perianth. Using the ramet method, one exceptional individual plant was propagated from 2017 to 2020 to establish a clonal population. The plant exhibited vigorous growth and maintained consistent and stable fine characteristics such as the flower color. It was named ‘Yise Ziqun’ because its inner and outer petals have different colors and petal edges that are wrinkled like a skirt. It was registered in the American Iris Association in 2023 with the registration number of DBLYDX-YSZQ-2019-224.
Description
‘Yise Ziqun’ and its parental species I. sanguinea were cultivated in the nursery of Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, China. In 2020, a total of 90 plants of each of ‘Yise Ziqun’ and its parent I. sanguinea were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications, 30 plants per each replicate. The Royal Horticultural Society (2007) Colour Chart was used to record flower colors. Fifteen plants were randomly selected from each block, and fully open flowers were used to conduct the phenotypical measurements. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0, and a one-way analysis of variance was used for data analysis (Table 1).
The morphological characteristics of ‘Yise Ziqun’ and its parent Iris sanguinea.
The outer perianth of ‘Yise Ziqun’ is nearly circular and exhibits a pendulous posture during full bloom with a wedge-shaped base exhibiting a network of claw patterns (Fig. 1A). This is different from the outer perianth of I. sanguinea, which exhibits a transversely elliptical shape and assumes a drooping posture during full bloom (Fig. 1C). The inner perianth of ‘Yise Ziqun’ has an elliptical shape and exhibits an upward orientation of ∼45° during full bloom (Fig. 1A), whereas the inner perianth of I. sanguinea is obovate, growing vertically above the ground during full bloom (Fig. 1C). When fully bloomed, the inner and outer perianth of ‘Yise Ziqun’ exhibit undulating edges (Fig. 1A), whereas that of I. sanguinea do not (Fig. 1C). Neither flower has fragrance even at full bloom.
Anatomic structures of ‘Yise Ziqun’ and its parent Iris sanguinea. (A) Flower of ‘Yise Ziqun’. (B) Flower anatomic structures of ‘Yise Ziqun’. (C) Flower of I. sanguinea. (D) Flower anatomic structures of I. sanguinea. Flower anatomic structures (from left to right) include flower top view, outer perianth segment, inner perianth segment, style branches, and stamens.
Citation: HortScience 59, 7; 10.21273/HORTSCI17898-24
‘Yise Ziqun’ was selected from the open-pollinated offspring of I. sanguinea because of its vibrant, two-colored flowers. The plant height of ‘Yise Ziqun’ is 67.32 ± 0.14 cm, which was significantly taller than that of its parent I. sanguinea (57.35 ± 0.42 cm) (Table 1). Compared with the leaves of ‘Yise Ziqun’ (56.84 ± 0.25 cm in length and 1.33 ± 0.08 cm in width), the leaves of I. sanguinea (58.34 ± 0.64 cm in length and 1.27 ± 0.15 cm in width) were slightly longer and narrower. The bracts of ‘Yise Ziqun’ (5.38 ± 0.12 cm in length and 1.37 ± 0.13 cm in width) are significantly shorter and wider than that of I. sanguinea (6.27 ± 0.36 cm in length and 1.02 ± 0.11 cm in width). The diameter of the flower of ‘Yise Ziqun’ measured 6.67 ± 0.16 cm, significantly larger than that of I. sanguinea (5.04 ± 0.21 cm). Thus, the flower of ‘Yise Ziqun’ has a better ornamental effect. In addition, the outer perianth of ‘Yise Ziqun’ (6.37 ± 0.07 cm in length and 5.08 ± 0.06 cm in width) was significantly longer and wider than that of I. sanguinea (4.79 ± 0.20 cm in length and 2.13 ± 0.21 cm in width). The inner perianth of ‘Yise Ziqun’ was 5.34 ± 0.11 cm long and 2.42 ± 0.09 cm wide, significantly longer and wider than that of I. sanguinea (4.94 ± 0.13 cm long and 1.71 ± 0.23 cm wide; Table 1). The most prominent feature of ‘Yise Ziqun’ was that the inner and outer perianth segments had different colors during full bloom. When fully bloomed, the inner perianth segment exhibited light purple (RHS N87C), whereas the outer perianth segment displayed a deep purple shade (RHS N87A) (Fig. 1B). This contrasts with the inner and outer perianth segments of its parent, which are blue-purple when fully bloomed (RHS N88A) (Fig. 1D).
The style branches of ‘Yise Ziqun’ are light purple (RHS N87C), with a distinct blue (RHS 82B) midrib, whereas that of I. sanguinea are blue purple (RHS N88A). The style branches of ‘Yise Ziqun’ were ovoid shaped and significantly larger than the style branches of I. sanguinea with elliptical shape (Fig. 1B and D). The anthers of ‘Yise Ziqun’ were purple (RHS N78A), and that of I. sanguinea were blue purple (RHS N92C) (Fig. 1B and D). The flowering and fruiting periods of ‘Yise Ziqun’ were consistent with those of its parental line, with the flowering period being 5 Jun through 25 Jun and the fruiting period being 10 Aug through 20 Sep.
Compared with its parent, ‘Yise Ziqun’ exhibited a distinctive and bichromatic design, offering a unique appearance. It can be used as an indigo-violet cut flower to enhance its intrinsic value.
Cultivation Techniques
‘Yise Ziqun’ can be propagated by ramet in spring, summer, or early autumn. When dividing plants, two to three buds should be reserved and planted with 40 × 40 cm spacing. Generally, no fertilization is required, and diseases and pests rarely occur.
Habit and Application
‘Yise Ziqun’ has strong cold tolerance and disease resistance. It can overwinter in the open field in Heilongjiang Province, China. The suitable growth environment is wet grassland, waterside wetland, and more. ‘Yise Ziqun’ has high ornamental value and can be used as cut flowers and for urban landscaping in cold areas.
Availability
Inquiries about research or request for ‘Yise Ziqun’ 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
Fan L, Ye W, Fu H, Zhao R, Shi G, Lv R, Yan L, Li Z, Wang L. 2022. ‘Qihuan Zi’: A new Iris sanguinea cultivar. HortScience. 57(7):757–758. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16573-22.
Fu H, Ye W, Zhao R, Dai Y, Wang L. 2022. ‘Mini Fen’: A new Iris sanguinea cultivar. HortScience. 57(7):799–800. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16621-22.
Liu G, Shi G, Wang L, Liu H, Niu Z, Wang L. 2023. ‘Xiao Feidie’: A new Iris sanguinea f. albiflora cultivar. HortScience. 58(5):502–503. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17062-22.
Royal Horticultural Society. 2007. Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart. Royal Horticultural Society, London, UK.
Yang J, Li F, Zhou S, Fan L, Wang L. 2022. ‘Dong Lin Zi’: A new Iris sanguinea cultivar. HortScience. 57(2):197–199. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16263-21.
Zhao J, Chen X, Fan L, Wang L. 2018. ‘Dream of the Butterfly’: A new Iris sanguinea cultivar. HortScience. 53(11):1706–1707. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13378-18.