ORIGINATOR: Schreiner

INTRODUCED: 1953

CLASS: Tall Bearded

HEIGHT: 42"

BLOOM SEASON: Mid

DESCRIPTION: Dark-red self, velvety flush on falls.

PARENTAGE: Ethiop Queen X Velvet Dusk

AWARDS: None

INTERESTING INFO: From the 1953 Schreiner's Iris Lover's Catalog: Dark iris have been rather restricted to smaller flowers, shorter stems and generally to colors on the blue side of black. CONGO represents a real achievement in that it is the first large dark iris with a reddish silken sheen on top of a cool-black undertone. In size is is fully 50% larger that the average deep-toned iris. This gloriously rich black with red tints fills a long-vacant niche in the iris spectrum. Our color plate reveals its excellence of form and branching but fails to recreate its color saturation which approaches blackness. Stock is scarce, one to a customer.