Iridoideae

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Iridaceae
Subfamilia: Iridoideae
Tribus: Diplarreneae – Irideae – Sisyrinchieae – Tigridieae – Trimezieae

Name

Iridoideae Eaton (1836)

Typus: Iris L.

References

Eaton, A. 1836. Bot. Dict. ed. 4: 28.

Additional references

Goldblatt, P., Rodríguez, A., , Davies, T.J., Manning, J.C., Van der Bank, M. & Savolainen, V. 2008. Iridaceae 'Out of Australasia'? Phylogeny, biogeography, and divergence time based on plastid DNA sequences. Systematic Botany 33(3): 495–508. DOI: 10.1600/036364408785679806 Paywall ResearchGate Reference page.

Links

Tropicos.org 2022. Iridoideae. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 08 Feb 2022.

Vernacular names

Iridoideae is one of the two main subfamilies in the popular family Iridaceae. It contains the best-known genus - Iris. The members of this subfamily are widely distributed worldwide. They grow in all continents except Antarctica.
Iris milesii

They produce typical sword-shaped leaves and have mainly corms or rhizomes. There are some exceptions which have bulbs. These are two subgenera of Iris - Xiphium and Hermodactyloides.

The blooms, which are often scented, are arranged in often terminal inflorescences. Each flower has six petals. In most cases three of them are separated from the others and are specialized in different functions. However some are not, as in Nemastylis. Nectar is produced in their base. In some of the species the stamens are partially fused with the petals.[1]

The 3-locular seed capsule contains the seeds which are often circular, flat in some cases drop-like grains coloured black or sometimes orange (Iris pseudacorus).

The species in the subfamily are often used as ornamental plants such as Iris and Tigridia. There are also species members which are at risk in their natural environment such as some subspecies of Ferraria crispa and Moraea villosa.
References

Rashed-Mohassel, Mohammad-Hassan (2020). "Chapter 4 - Evolution and botany of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and allied species". Saffron. Woodhead Publishing Series. pp. 37–57.