Another favorite iris for me , and a sinister one at that .  From a distance on a overcast day , this iris looks jet black but comes alive when the sun shines through it with glorious deep shades of purple.  Even more stunning is it's bronze tipped purple beard and fantastic purple based foliage.

I bought this one years ago as a completely dry dormant rhizome and planted in out around halloween , which is several months too late .   One rhizome managed to make it through the winter so I potted it and waited for three months before it decided to grow,  This iris is not a fast increaser nor does it grow tall foliage but it did manage to bloom .  I tried to set a pod on it with several types of pollen but had no success :-(

Lighting is a little contrasty in the photo , ideally , the harsh sun light should have been diffused with a photo umbrella to soften the light and reduce the contrast.  Perhaps I'll have the time to photograph it properly one day
 

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