162 Iris sibirica L.

This species originates from the continental area between C. Europe and W. Siberia. It has been introduced locally into W. and N. Europe, where it has occasionally escaped from cultivation. In E. Asia this species is replaced by the closely related I. orientalis Thunb. (syn.: I. sanguinea Hornem.), the distribution of which is tentatively mapped. Cf. also Meusel et al. 1965, map p. 102.