Objective  Indicators for distinguishing differentiate physiological traits of naturally occurring variants of Iris hollandica were determined.

  Methods  According to the DUS testing guidelines on bulbous irises, botanical and agronomic traits of 4 wild-type variants of Chunzhimeng , namely MHS5-3, XCQ5-1, MZB7-2, and CZL7-3, were examined. Major ornamental characteristics of the plants were analyzed for the indicator selection.

  Results  The morphological, flowering, and growth characteristics of these variants were not significantly deviate from those of the wild-type plants. On the other hand, among the 40 investigated traits, 7 pseudo-qualitative characteristics, including colors of bud, flag pedal, filigree, style, feathercrown, and upper and lower pendant petals , groud color of upper side of blade in outer tepal, color of Inner tepal, filament color, color of upper side in bridge, color of upper side in crest, and groud color of upper side of claw in outer tepal, significantly differed between the wild-type the variants. These traits showed a potential of being used as criteria for differentiating between the two, while the remaining 33 traits were phenotypically similar.

  Conclusion  Being an apparent property of an ornamental flowering plant, red and blue, in particular, appeared superior to purple and white I. hollandica flower color for separating variants from the wild-type counterparts.