Iris

Iris
/uy"ris/, n.
a female given name.

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      in Greek mythology, the personification of the rainbow and (in Homer's Iliad, for example) a messenger of the gods. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, she was the daughter of Thaumas and the ocean nymph Electra. In Hesiod's works, at least, she had the additional duty of carrying water from the River Styx in a ewer whenever the gods had to take a solemn oath. The water would render unconscious for one year any god or goddess who lied. In art, Iris was normally portrayed with wings, and her attributes were the herald's staff and a vase. She was shown serving wine to the gods or escorting them to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

▪ plant genus
 genus of about 300 species of plants in the family Iridaceae including some of the world's most popular and varied garden flowers, centred in the North Temperate Zones. Some of its most handsome species, however, are native to the Mediterranean and central Asian areas. The iris is the fleur-de-lis of the French royalist standard. It is a popular subject of Japanese flower arrangement, and it is also the source of orrisroot, from which “essence of violet” perfume is made. Irises are either bulbous or rhizomatous (with thick, creeping underground stems) and have six petallike floral segments, the more erect inner ones called standards and the usually drooping outer ones called falls.

      Best known are the bearded, or German, group—the common garden irises. These are hybrids of pale-blue I. pallida, yellow I. variegata, purple-blue I. germanica, and perhaps other southern European species. They are hardy, rhizomatous types with sturdy, swordlike leaves and tall stems (to 90 cm [3 feet]) of three to many flowers. With the introduction in 1900 of taller, heavier, larger-flowered I. mesopotamica, even larger hybrids were created, many of them fragrant, in a full range of colours and combinations, often with brightly contrasting “beards” on the falls. Dwarf bearded irises, most of which flower in early spring, are for the most part varieties of the almost stemless I. pumila and the taller I. chamaeiris, both from dry, rocky places in southern Europe.

      Best known of the beardless, rhizomatous group is perhaps the water-loving Japanese iris (I. kaempferi), frequently featured in Japanese watercolours. Its almost flat flowers consist of long, somewhat drooping falls, surrounding narrower, shorter standards. The Siberian iris (I. sibirica), from grasslands in central and eastern Europe, has slender, straight stalks with clustered heads of violet-blue or white blooms. Similar but shorter and more sturdy, I. spuria has round falls, short standards, and rather lax foliage. The yellow, or water, flag (I. pseudacorus) is a swamp plant native to Eurasia and North Africa; the blue flag (I. versicolor) occupies similar habitats in North America.

      Two outstanding bulbous irises are both from mountains of Spain. They have narrow standards, somewhat broader falls, and spiky, linear foliage. Spanish iris (I. xiphium), violet with yellow or yellow-spotted falls, grows in damp, sandy places. English iris (I. xiphioides), so named because of its popularity in British horticulture, bears bright-blue flowers. Dutch irises are sturdier, earlier-flowering hybrids created in The Netherlands.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • iris — iris …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • iris — [ iris ] n. m. • XIIIe; lat. iris, iridis, gr. iris, iridos I ♦ Plante (iridacées), à rhizome ou à bulbe et à haute tige portant de grandes fleurs ornementales. Iris des marais, de Florence, d Espagne. Iris violet, jaune. L irone, principe… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • iris — 1. (i ris ) s. f. 1°   Nom d une divinité de la mythologie grecque, qui était la messagère des dieux, et qui, déployant son écharpe, produisait l arc en ciel.    Fig. •   Je tiens à bon augure, de ce que MLLE***, qui m avait abandonné ces jours… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Iris — typically refers to:* Iris (mythology), in Greek mythology, a messenger god and the personification of rainbows * Iris (color), an ambiguous color ranging from blue violet to violet, from the flower of the same nameIris may also refer to:In… …   Wikipedia

  • IRIS-T — Allgemeine Angaben Typ: Luft Luft Rakete …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • iris — ÍRIS, (I) irisuri, s.n., (II) irişi, s.m. I. s.n. 1. Membrană circulară, colorată a ochiului, situată înaintea cristalinului, în mijlocul căreia se găseşte pupila. 2. Diafragmă cu diametru variabil, folosită la instrumentele optice pentru a regla …   Dicționar Român

  • iris — m. anat. Órgano muscular, contráctil y pigmentado que se halla situado por delante del cristalino y detrás de la córnea. Actúa como un diafragma regulando la cantidad de luz que incide sobre la retina mediante un orificio central (pupila) de… …   Diccionario médico

  • IRIS — can refer to: In technology * IRIS T, a German air to air missile * International Reactor Innovative and Secure, an advanced light water nuclear reactor design * Internal Rotary Inspection System, an ultrasonic method for the nondestructive… …   Wikipedia

  • iris — IRIS. s. f. Meteore qu on appelle vulgairement l Arc en ciel. Les couleurs de l iris. l iris se forme dans la nuë par l opposition du Soleil. Il sign. aussi, Une fleur qu on appelle autrement Flambe. L Iris se plaist dans les lieux marescageux.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

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