How to Identify the Reproductive Parts of an Iris Flower

The yellow structure on this iris is a beard, not a reproductive structure.

Iris growers continually seek new and improved varieties. They want plants with more vigor, improved flower form, unusual colors and new patterns. Iris plants readily produce fertile seed, so many iris enthusiasts attempt to breed for these desirable qualities by cross-pollinating the flowers of their own plants. To make hybrid seeds, pollen from the male parts, or anthers, of one plant's flower must contact the female part, or stigma, of another plant's flower. The hardest part of hybridizing irises is identifying the reproductive structures of the flower, particularly the anther and the stigma lip.

Instructions

1. Follow one of the three downward-pointing fall petals on an iris blossom back toward the heart of the flower. This will lead you to the reproductive parts. The correct path is also indicated by bright patches of color, known as signals, as well as by prominent veins in the petals, known as guide lines. The fall petals on bearded iris flowers also have dense strips of hairs, known as beards, which point toward the correct area.

2. Push the petals apart gently to reveal the stamen at the base of one of the fall petals. The stamen consists of a long, upright filament that has a pollen-bearing anther at the top. The pollen is powdery and usually yellow in color. If you don't see a stamen, you probably haven't opened the flower enough -- the petals and related structures make a tubelike chamber that almost completely encloses the stamen.

3. Examine the roof of the tube or chamber that encloses the stamen. Although the roof looks like a small petal, it is actually a reproductive structure known as the style-arm. The very tip of the style-arm looks like a notched, crested and ornamental strip of petal. Near the tip of the style-arm but slightly closer to the heart of the flower is a small flap known as the stigma lip.

4. Gently bend the stigma lip down while pulling the notched petal-like edge up. Doing so reveals the moist, sticky inner surface of the stigma lip. This is the area that receives the pollen. When the petals aren't pulled apart, the sticky stigma lip hangs above and slightly in front of the anther. A bee crawling through the petal tube must rub against both the sticky stigma on top and the powdery anther in the middle. When the stigma is moist, it is ready to be pollinated. It is dry right after the flower opens and again when the flower is older.

References

• "The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification"; Peter Goldblatt and John C. Manning; 2008
• "Irises: A Gardener's Encyclopedia"; Claire Austin; 2005