Iris proantha

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Iris proantha is a beardless iris in the iris family. It grows from a long brown rhizome that spreads to form large clumps. The plant has yellow‑green, grassy leaves that are 5–27 cm long and 0.1–0.7 cm wide; after flowering the leaves can grow to 40–55 cm. It flowers on a short stem 5–28 cm tall, usually with one bloom from March to April.

The flower has two green, lance-shaped leaf-like structures (spathes) at the bud. Flowers come in blue shades—from purple and pale violet to blue, white, or pale pink—and are about 3.5–5 cm across. Each flower has three large outer petals (falls) and three inner petals (standards). The falls are obovate (egg-shaped), about 1–1.2 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, with a darker horseshoe mark around a paler center and a yellow crest. The standards are the same color as the falls, upright, and about 2.2–2.5 cm long and 0.7 cm wide. The pedicel is 6–10 mm, the perianth tube is 2.5–3.5 cm, the white stamens are about 1 cm long, and the ovary is green and cylindrical (4–5 mm). The style branches are 1.8 cm long and match the petal color. After flowering, it forms a spherical seed capsule about 1.2–1.5 cm in diameter with a short beak.

Chromosome counts for Iris proantha are 2n = 50 and 2n = 44 in some records.

In Chinese, it is called 小鸢尾 (xiao yuan wei), meaning “small iris.” The plant was first described by Friedrich Diels in 1924. He noted it had no outer perianth appendages, but this was later corrected when it was found to have an appendage. Iris pseudorossii, once thought separate, is now recognized as a synonym of Iris proantha. A published variant is Iris proantha var. valida.

Iris proantha is native to temperate parts of Asia, especially eastern China (Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang) near Shanghai. It can be seen in places such as Hangzhou Botanical Garden and Tianmu Mountain Reserve in Zhejiang, and it appeared in the Hangzhou West Lake area by 2012. It has also been found in India (Arunachal Pradesh, 2007). The species grows in forests edges, clearings, meadows, roadsides, and hillsides and is not commonly cultivated in Europe.