General Information

COMMON NAMES: Blue Apostle Iris, Blue Marica, Twelve Apostles Iris GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Brazil COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands, gardens SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers KEY FEATURES: Lily to 1.5m with long arching 'leaves' and erect blue flowers. 'LEAVES' basal, long-tapering, to 150x6cm, green or green with green-yellow margins. FLOWERS 3-7 on short stalks from a fold on a 'leaf'; each short-lived, to 10cmØ, stigma 3-pronged; outer petals 3 spreading (=tepals) lilac to blue; inner petals 3, rolled-back, dark blue and white; petal bases yellow with brown markings.

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present    Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	+	++						-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-			-

Neomarica caerulea (Ker-Gawl.)
SYNONYMS: Marica caerulea

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); LILIIDAE; Liliales; IRIDACEAE

IDENTIFICATION: Perennial lily to 150cm with long arching 'leaves'. 'LEAVES' (=flower-stalk plus terminal leaf) sword-like, to 200x6cm. FLOWERS on short stems arising from a fold on a 'leaf'; 2-6, short-lived, to 12cmØ, stigma 3-pronged; PETALS outer 3, oval, tips acute, pale blue to lilac; inner 3, recurved, deep blue and white; all bases yellow with brown markings.

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.237 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.760 Hortus 3rd
p.777 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.526 Tropica

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, zD02

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