Iris ensata

Iris ensata is an erect rhizomatous herbaceous perennial growing to {{convert|80|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall, with strap-shaped leaves. The flower, appearing in midsummer, is purple with a flash of yellow on the falls.{{cite web

| url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/9240/i-Iris-ensata-i/Details | title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata | accessdate = 14 March 2018}} The bluish purple color of the flowers is an example of the copigmentation phenomenon.Anthocyanin-flavone copigmentation in bluish purple flowers of Japanese garden iris (Iris ensata Thunb.) T. Yabuya, M. Nakamura, T. Iwashina, M. Yamaguchi and T. Takehara, EUPHYTICA, Volume 98, Number 3, 163–167, {{doi|10.1023/A:1003152813333}}

Widely distributed throughout the Japanese archipelago and elsewhere, I. ensata is very hardy down to {{convert|-20 |C|F|abbr=on}}. It prefers a boggy or marshy environment and soil with a low (acidic) pH. In favourable conditions it will eventually form sizable clumps.

Iris ensata is extensively grown as an ornamental plant in gardens and parks throughout the temperate zones of the world.

Iris ensata is highly prized in Japan. It is possible that it was introduced into Japanese culture in ancient times, in association with rice farming. Certainly it has been cultivated and hybridised there for at least five centuries. The {{Nihongo|hanashōbu|ハナショウブ, 花菖蒲||extra={{ill|Iris ensata var. ensata|ja|ハナショウブ|italics=y}}, syn. I. ensata var. hortensis, I. kaempferi}} grows in the wet land and is the most extensively cultivated variety in Japanese gardens. According to the place where it was cultivated, I. ensata is classified into three strains – the Edo (Tokyo), Higo (Kumamoto Prefecture) and Ise (Mie Prefecture).

Upon being introduced to the west in the mid-19th century, a new chapter was opened in the cultivation of this species. In America it was intensively hybridised to produce many new cultivars. Perhaps the most influential breeders in the United States have been Arlie Payne of Indiana, the Marx family of Oregon, Arthur Hazzard of Michigan, and Currier McEwan of Maine. Between them they have produced plants with large blooms and a wide range of colours. In the UK interest in this plant has been equally strong. The national collection is held at the Marwood Hill Gardens in Barnstaple, Devon.{{cite web

| url = http://www.nccpg.com/National-Collections/Collection-profiles/Iris-ensata.aspx | title = Iris ensata

| publisher = Plant Heritage: National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens | accessdate = 14 March 2018}}

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants – Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 53

| publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 2 March 2018}}

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• 'Aldridge Visitor'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/140391/i-Iris-ensata-i-Aldridge-Visitor/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Aldridge Visitor' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Alpine Majesty'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/228465/i-Iris-ensata-i-Alpine-Majesty/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Alpine Majesty' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Barr Purple East'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/143558/i-Iris-ensata-i-Barr-Purple-East/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Barr Purple East' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Caprician Butterfly'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/48881/i-Iris-ensata-i-Caprician-Butterfly/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Caprician Butterfly' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Crystal Halo'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/103648/i-Iris-ensata-i-Crystal-Halo/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Crystal Halo' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Flying Tiger'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/112236/i-Iris-ensata-i-Flying-Tiger/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Flying Tiger' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Frilled Enchantment'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/103361/i-Iris-ensata-i-Frilled-Enchantment/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Frilled Enchantment' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'The Great Mogul'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/103361/i-Iris-ensata-i-Frilled-Enchantment/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'The Great Mogul' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Hue and Cry'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/119244/i-Iris-ensata-i-Hue-and-Cry/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Hue and Cry' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Katy Mendez'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/108473/i-Iris-ensata-i-Katy-Mendez/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder -Iris ensata 'Katy Mendez' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'The Mancunian'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/119245/i-Iris-ensata-i-Mancunian/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'The Mancunian | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Returning Tide'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/113576/i-Iris-ensata-i-Returning-Tide/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Returning Tide' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Rose Queen'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/48635/i-Iris-ensata-i-Rose-Queen/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Rose Queen' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Southern Son'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/88944/i-Iris-ensata-i-Southern-Son/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Southern Son' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

• 'Variegata'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/99775/i-Iris-ensata-i-Variegata-(v)/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder – Iris ensata 'Variegata' | accessdate = 13 March 2018}}

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File:Meigetuin02.jpg|Hanashōbu at Meigetsu{{non breaking hyphen}}in

File:Iris ensata var ensata2.jpg|Iris ensata var. ensata

File:Iris ensata 'Narihira'01.jpg|'Narihira'

File:Iris ensata, 'Arctic Fancy' cultivar (Chanticleer Garden).jpg|'Arctic Fancy'

{{Reflist|3}}

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• [http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/michi/cgi/detail.cgi?dasID=D0004080038_00000 Hanashobu Park in Sawara, Japan]

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ensata

Category:Flora of Japan

Category:Flora of Korea

Category:Flora of Manchuria

Category:Flora of the Russian Far East

Category:Garden plants of Asia

Category:Plants described in 1794