This card, or so I hope, shows the Bearded Iris, or Iris Germanica, a hybrid which can grow up to forty-seven inches tall.
The "Germanica" part comes from Carl Linnaeus, who described it as so in his "Species Plantarum", way back in 1753. As for the "Bearded", that refers to the hairs which grow on the downwards curving lower petals of the flowers, and which you can see quite well on our card.
As this card shows, it grows by means of a rhizome, or tuber, and it flowers from mid to late Spring. Some of the varieties flower again in the autumn, if weather and soil conditions are perfect. It can be grown from seed, but takes longer, the best way is to divide the rhizome into sections and cultivate that .
That is rather a good time to mention that though these cards were given away with chocolate, ostensibly to children, they are quite botanically learned, as they show the preferred method of growing the plant - whether from seed (la graine), pod (la gousse), bulb (l`oignon) or cutting (la bouture) and grafting (la greffe).The most interesting term used is "la marcotte", which means air layering, removing a section of bark right around the branch, covering it with moss, and plastic, and allowing it to root into the moss.
- La Graine - 1. La Capucine [nasturtium]
- L`Iris - Le Rhizome [iris]
- La Giroflee - La Gousse [wallflower]
- La Graine - 4. La Rose Tremiere [hollyhock]
- La Graine - 5. Le Lilas [lilac]
- Le Chrysantheme - La Bouture [chrysanthemum]
- La Violette - La Graine [violet]
- La Tulipe - L`Oignon [tulip]
- La Rose - La Greffe [rose]
- L`Oillet - La Marcotte [carnation]
- La Graine - 11. Le Geranium [geranium]
- La Fuschia - La Graine [fuschia]
I do not know why some of the cards are numbered first and others in the middle, I just copied it as they were. If anyone has a theory do let us know.