Table 1.

Differences between Iris×ampliflora, I.confusa, I.tectorum, I.wattii and I.japonica in the conservation nursery of Shanghai Botanical Garden.

Species		I.tectorum	I.confusa	I.wattii	I.×ampliflora	I.japonica
		(n = 10)	(n = 10)	(n = 8)	(n = 10)	(n = 10)
Aerial stem Length		No	67.2 ± 19.9a	30.3 ± 9.3b	27.0 ± 2.7b	12.3 ± 2.7c
Leaf	Waxy	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
	Longitudinal veins	Clearly	Clearly	Clearly	Clearly	Clearly
	Texture	Wrinkled	Smooth	Wrinkled	Wrinkled	Smooth
	Length	49.5 ± 3.5c	54.8 ± 3.8b	70.1 ± 9.2a	74.2 ± 6.4a	48.2 ± 2.9c
	Width	2.9 ± 0.2d	5.3 ± 0.6b	4.3 ± 1.0c	6.6 ± 0.8a	3.8 ± 0.7c
Flower	Flowering-stem	1–2 branches	2–4 branches	5–7 branches	7–10 branches	5–12 branches
	Color	Bluish violet	Pale reddish purple	Bluish violet	Violet	Violet / Bluish violet
	Size (in diam.)	9.2 ± 1.1b	5.1 ± 0.4d	7.3 ± 0.4 c	12.5 ± 0.5a	4.8 ± 0.4d
	Crest	White	Yellow	Yellow	Yellow	Yellow
	Anthers	White	White	Yellow	White	White
Chromosome number		28	30	30	31	28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 54 and 55
Distribution		Subtropical and temperate zone of China	Chongqing, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [NW India]	Chongqing, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [NE India, Myanmar].	Chongqing	Subtropical and temperature zone of China [Japan]

Note: n, sample number.