Evansia (Alef.) Salisb. ex Decne., Bull. Soc. Bot.

Crespo, Manuel B., Martínez-Azorín, Mario & Mavrodiev, Evgeny V., 2015, Can a rainbow consist of a single colour? A new comprehensive generic arrangement of the ‘ Iris sensu latissimo’ clade (Iridaceae), congruent with morphology and molecular data, Phytotaxa 232 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

6. Evansia (Alef.) Salisb. ex Decne., Bull. Soc. Bot. France 20: 301 (1873) ( Evansia Salisb., Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 303 (1812) nom. inval., sine descr.) [≡ Xiphion subg. Evansia Alef., Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 21: 297 (1863); Iris subg. Crossiris Spach, Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. ser. 3, 5: 110 (1846); Iris subg. Evansia (Alef.) Baker, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 16: 143 (1877)]. Type (lectotype here designated):— E. fimbriata (Vent.) Decne. [≡ Iris fimbriata Vent., Descr. Pl. Nouv. : t. 9 (1800)] = E. japonica (Thunb.) Klatt, Abh. Naturf. Ges. Halle 15: 373 (1882) [≡ Iris japonica Thunb., Trans. Linn. Soc. London 2: 327 (1794)]

Description:—Rhizomatous herbs, with perennial aerial structures. Rhizome stout, many-branched, nodose, with remains of leaf bases, and sometimes with slender long creeping stolons; roots fibrous, slender. Stems aerial, usually bamboo-like, many branched, usually carrying many scars and old leaf sheaths, solid or hollow, rounded or ± flattened in cross section. Leaves isobilateral, broadly linear to ensiform, sometimes glossy on one side, or with 4–5 prominent ribs, not fetid. Flowers in small clusters, terminal on branches, each with persistent stiff, articulate pedicel. Spathe valves 3–6, herbaceous, green, sometimes with scariose margin at anthesis. Perigone in 2 rows, not much differing in size and shape, fused in a short tube, widened at the apex; falls erect-patent, obovate to elliptic, with markedly erose-dentate, undulate margin, patent to strongly reflexed towards apex, sometimes emarginate, gradually tapering into a short claw, with central crest of a single row, coloured, entire to fimbriate, flanked by two pairs of lateral structures at the base; standards patent, elliptic to narrowly-obovate, with ± undulate-erose margin, sometimes with glandular hairs on the adaxial surface, narrowed into a short, nearly flat haft. Stamen filaments free, adnate to the fall bases. Ovary trilocular, with axile placentation. Style filiform, with 3 petaloid branches, less than half longer than falls, each one concealing a stamen; crests long, incurved, with deeply fimbriate margins; stigma bilobed, with broad lobes, ± minutely denticulate. Capsule globose-ovoid to cylindric-ovoid, with 6 ribs, trigonous, not hidden into spathes, shortly pointed, unbeaked; pericarp subcoriaceous, 6-ribbed, sometimes reticulate veined. Seeds numerous, angulose, ± flattened, with small whitish aril; testa corky, brownish, with surface irregularly wrinkled, matte. p = 7, 8. Figs. 3J , 6D , 13B .

It includes al least 5 species, occurring in the eastern parts of Asia ( Fig. 14A ).

Needed new combinations:— Evansia confusa (Sealy) M.B.Crespo, Mart. -Azorín & Mavrodiev, comb. nov. Basionym: Iris confusa Sealy, Gard. Chron., Ser. 3, 102: 414 (1937). Evansia formosana (Ohwi) M.B.Crespo, Mart. -Azorín & Mavrodiev, comb. nov. Basionym: Iris formosana Ohwi, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 3: 115 (1934). Evansia nantouensis (S.S.Ying) M.B.Crespo, Mart. -Azorín & Mavrodiev, comb. nov. Basionym: Iris nantouensis S.S.Ying, Quart. J. Exp. Forest. 1(3): 107 (1987). Evansia wattii (Baker ex Hook.f.) M.B.Crespo, Mart. -Azorín & Mavrodiev, comb. nov. Basionym: Iris wattii Baker ex Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 273 (July 1892).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Flower morphology: falls, standards and stylar branches in most cases, sometimes with spathe bracts. A) Siphonostylis lazica (photo: Ken Walker); B) Gattenhofia verna (photo: Jim McCormac); C) Pardanthopsis dichotoma (photo: Christy Hensler); D) Belamcanda chinensis, with all tepals subequal and also with fruits (photo: Tom Murphy); E) Iris germanica (photo: Ken Walker); F) Iris acutiloba (photo: Aleksandr Ivanov); G) Iris tigridia (photo: Vladimir Y. Arkhipov); H) Iris bloudowii (photo: Vesa Muurinen); I) Juno planifolia (photo: Mario Martínez-Azorín); J) Evansia japonica (photo: Ken Walker); K) Tectiris tectorum (photo: Ken Walker); L) Junopsis decora (photo: Ken Walker).

FIGURE 6. Carpology. A) Belamcanda chinensis, seeds black, long persistent on the central axis of fruit (photo: Stanislav Doronenko); B) Pardanthopsis dichotoma, seeds shortly winged (photo: Ken Walker); C) Gattenhofia verna var. smalliana, seeds with fleshy raphe and ribbed surface (photo: Ken Walker); D) Tectiris tectorum, seeds glossy, pyriform, apiculate, with inconspicuous aril (photo: Ken Walker); E) Evansia wattii, seeds matte, angulose, with small aril (photo: Dennis Kramb); F) Chamaeiris foetidissima, seeds reddish, persistent on valves of the opened fruit (photo: Ken Walker); G) Chamaeiris halophila, seeds with papery, loose testa (photo: David Pilling); H) Hermodactylus tuberosus, seeds globose with gelatinous aril (photo: Ken Walker); I) Lophiris cristata, seeds with long coiled appendage (photo: Jan Sacks); J) Zhaoanthus speculatrix, seeds with aril withering early as a wing (photo: Ken Walker); K) Phaeiris giganticaerulea, seeds large, flattened, with thickened, corky testa (photo: Robert R. Pries); L) Joniris uniflora, seeds with fleshy raphe vanishing on drying (photo: Robert R. Pries); M) Limniris sibirica, seeds discoidal, without aril, with subcorky testa (photo: Ken Walker); N) Rodionenkoa gracilipes, seeds with fleshy raphe and testa surface pitted (photo: Robert R. Pries); O) Junopsis collettii, seeds oblong with conspicuous whitish aril (photo: Ken Walker); P) Zhaoanthus koreanus, seeds globosecompressed, with fleshy raphe withering early as a wing (photo: Robert R. Pries); Q) Iris hoogiana, seeds with prominent aril and testa surface reticulate-wrinkled (photo: Robert R. Pries); R) Iris pumila, seeds without aril and testa surface reticulate-wrinkled (photo: Steve Hurst); S) Juno bucharica, seeds apiculate with fleshy appendage (photo: Ken Walker); T) Siphonostylis lazica, seeds angulose with testa surface covered with sessile glands (photo: Ken Walker). Scale bars in mm.

FIGURE 13. Habit and floral details. A) Juno persica (Wright 1906: t. 8059); B) Evansia japonica (Redouté 1806: t. 152); C) Junopsis collettii (Hooker 1903: t. 7889); D) Tectiris milesii (Baker 1886: t. 6889).

FIGURE 14. Approximate distribution areas: A) Evansia (yellow); B) Tectiris (red).