Iris missouriensis

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Iris missouriensis
Iris missouriensis 9423.JPG
Iris missouriensis (Wenas Wildlife Area, Washington)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Iris subg. Limniris
Section: Iris sect. Limniris
Series: Iris ser. Longipetalae
Species:
I. missouriensis
Binomial name
Iris missouriensis
Synonyms [1]
  • Iris arizonica Dykes
  • Iris haematophylla var. valametica Herb. ex Hook.
  • Iris longipetala var. montana Baker
  • Iris missouriensis f. alba H.St.John
  • Iris missouriensis var. albiflora Cockerell
  • Iris missouriensis f. angustispatha R.C.Foster
  • Iris missouriensis var. arizonica (Dykes) R.C.Foster
  • Iris missouriensis var. pelogonus (Goodd.) R.C.Foster
  • Iris missuriensis M.Martens
  • Iris montana Nutt. ex Dykes
  • Iris pariensis S.L.Welsh
  • Iris pelogonus Goodd.
  • Iris tolmieana Herb.
  • Limniris missouriensis (Nutt.) Rodion.

Iris missouriensis (syn. I. montana) is a hardy flowering rhizomatous species of the genus Iris , in the family Iridaceae. Its common names include western blue flag, Rocky Mountain iris, [2] and Missouri flag.

Contents

It is native to western North America. Its distribution is varied; it grows at high elevations in mountains and alpine meadows and all the way down to sea level in coastal hills. [3] [4]

Description

The three, usually light blue, sepals have purple lines and surround the three smaller darker-blue petals. Iris missouriensis 9425.JPG
The three, usually light blue, sepals have purple lines and surround the three smaller darker-blue petals.

Iris missouriensis is an erect herbaceous rhizomatous perennial, 20 to 40 centimetres (7+78 to 15+34 in) high, with leafless unbranched scapes (flowering stems) and linear basal leaves, 5 to 10 mm wide, similar in height to the scapes. The inflorescence usually consists of one or two flowers, exceptionally three or four. Each flower has three light to dark blue, spreading or reflexed sepals lined with purple and three smaller upright blue petals. [5] [6] [7] [8] They produce a large fruit capsule. [9]

The plant populations often spread outwards from the older plants, leaving a dead opening in the center of a growing ring. [9]

Uses

Some Native American tribes made cordage from the plant's stems and leaves. [10] Some Plateau Indian tribes used the roots to treat toothache. [11] The Navajo used a decoction of the plant as an emetic. [12] Plains Indians are said to have extracted the toxin irisin from the plant to use as arrow poison. [9] The Zuni apply a poultice of chewed root to increase the strength of newborns and infants. [13]

This iris is listed as a weed in some areas, particularly in agricultural California. It is bitter and distasteful to livestock and heavy growths of the plant are a nuisance in pasture land. Heavy grazing in an area promotes the growth of this hardy iris. [7]

The plant is widely cultivated in temperate regions. [14]

Toxicity

The plant is toxic, particularly the rootstalks, which contain the potentially lethal irisin. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Iris</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae

Iris is a flowering plant genus of 310 accepted species with showy flowers. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is flags, while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as junos, particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower.

<i>Linum lewisii</i> Species of flowering plant

Linum lewisii is a perennial plant in the family Linaceae, native to western North America from Alaska south to Baja California, and from the Pacific Coast east to the Mississippi River. It grows on ridges and dry slopes, from sea level in the north up to 11,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada.

<i>Olsynium douglasii</i> Species of flowering plant

Olsynium douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the iris family (Iridaceae). Common names include Douglas' olsynium, Douglas' grasswidow, grass-widow, blue-eyed grass, purple-eyed-grass, and satin flower, It is the only species in the genus Olsynium in North America, the remaining 11 species being from South America. It was formerly treated in the related genus Sisyrinchium. Despite the common names, it is not a true grass (Poaceae).

<i>Iris cristata</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris cristata is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Limniris. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, endemic to the eastern United States. It has pale lavender flowers with a white patch and orange or yellow crest. It is a close relative to Iris lacustris, the only other crested iris native to North America. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

<i>Allium acuminatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium acuminatum, also known as the tapertip onion or Hooker's onion, is a species in the genus Allium native to North America.

<i>Platanthera elegans</i> Species of plant

Platanthera elegans is a species of orchid known by several common names, including elegant piperia, coast piperia, hillside rein orchid, and hillside bogorchid. This is a showy flowering plant native to western North America. It grows from a caudex tuber and sends up a thick stem just under a meter in maximum height. The stem is topped with a cylindrical spike inflorescence of densely packed flowers with curving white to greenish-yellow petals. Coastal individuals are noticeably thicker and have more flowers than those that grow further inland; it is uncertain if these are variants, subspecies, or even separate species. They are both currently treated as P. elegans. Other species of Plantanthera, notably the endangered species P. yadonii are quite similar in appearance to some populations of this species.

<i>Collinsia parviflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Collinsia parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names maiden blue eyed Mary and small-flowered collinsia.

<i>Gaillardia aristata</i> Species of flowering plant

Gaillardia aristata is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, known by the common names common blanketflower and common gaillardia. This perennial wildflower is widespread across much of North America, from Yukon east to Québec and south as far as California, Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, although it may be naturalized rather than native in parts of that range. It is also naturalized in scattered locations in Europe, Australia, and South America.

<i>Arnica cordifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Arnica cordifolia is a species of arnica in the sunflower family, known by the common name heartleaf arnica. It is native to western North America.

<i>Veronica wormskjoldii</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Veronica wormskjoldii is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name American alpine speedwell. It is native to much of northern and western North America, including the western United States and northern Canada, from where it grows in moist alpine habitat, such as mountain forest understory. It has a wide subarctic distribution from Alaska to Greenland.

<i>Lithophragma parviflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lithophragma parviflorum is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name smallflower woodland star. It is native to much of western North America from British Columbia to California to South Dakota and Nebraska, where it grows in several types of open habitat. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect or leaning with a naked flowering stem. The leaves are mainly located low on the stem, each cut into three lobes or divided into three lobed leaflets. The stem bears up to 14 flowers, each in a cuplike calyx of red or green sepals. The five petals are bright white, up to 1.6 centimeters long, and usually divided into three toothlike lobes.

<i>Sisyrinchium elmeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Sisyrinchium elmeri is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae known by the common name Elmer's blue-eyed grass. It is endemic to California, where it is known from many of the mountain ranges from the Klamath Mountains through the Sierra Nevada to the San Bernardino Mountains. It grows in moist habitat types such as meadows and bogs.

<i>Iris histrioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris histrioides, the orchis iris, winter iris or Harput iris, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Iris, subgenus Hermodactyloides of the family Iridaceae. It is a bulbous perennial, that is native to Turkey, and has blue, scented flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, and has many known cultivars.

<i>Iris longipetala</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris longipetala is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Limniris and in the series Longipetalae. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from North America. It has dark green or bluish green, grass-like leaves, small stem and 3–8 flowers, that range from creamy-white, pale blue to lavender blue. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

<i>Iris tridentata</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris tridentata is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Limniris and in the series Tripetalae. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the Southeastern United States. It has a cord-like rhizome, bright green leaves, long stem and fragrant flowers in spring in shades of blue.

<i>Iris clarkei</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris clarkei is a species in the genus Iris, also the subgenus of Limniris and in the series Sibiricae. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from Asia, including north east India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Burma and in China. It has grey-green leaves, long and thin green stem and violet, to dark blue, to blue or reddish purple flowers.

<i>Iris hoogiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris hoogiana is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Regelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the grassy mountainsides of Turkestan. It has long green leaves, which are slightly purple at the base, and a long slender flowering stem. The flowers are blue, ranging from sky-blue to lavender blue and blue purple. It has orange or yellow beards. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

<i>Iris korolkowii</i> Species of plant

Iris korolkowii is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Regelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the mountains of Tien Shan, Pamir and Altai, in Afghanistan and Turkestan. It is commonly known as the Redvein Iris. It has long, sword-shaped grey-green leaves, slender stem, and 2 to 3 white, cream, pale green or light purple flowers which are veined with maroon, chocolate brown or dark purple. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

Iris dolichosiphon is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from China and Bhutan. It has long, thin dark green leaves, very short stem, and dark blue, purple, or violet flowers. That are mottled with white. It has thick white/orange beards. It has one subspecies, Iris dolichosiphon subsp. orientalis, from China, India and Burma. It has similar flowers. They are cultivated as ornamental plants in temperate regions

Iris benacensis is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Italy. It has similar sized leaves and stem, and blue-purple shaded flowers, that have a white, blue and yellow beard. It was once classified as a synonym of Iris aphylla, before being re-classified as a species in its own right, although some sources still call it a synonym. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

References

  1. "Iris missouriensis Nutt. is an accepted name". theplantlist.org. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  2. Donald Wyman Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia , p. 576, at Google Books
  3. Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Iris missouriensis". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  4. "Iris missouriensis". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  5. Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2014). "Iris missouriensis". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  6. Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Iris missouriensis". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  7. 1 2 "Iris missouriensis". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  8. "Blue Flag Irises - Iris missouriensis". Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 72. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.
  10. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 171. ISBN   978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC   1073035766.
  11. Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wana, "The Big River": Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. University of Washington Press. p. 354. ISBN   0-295-97119-3.
  12. Goldblatt, Peter (1980). Uneven Diploid Chromosome Numbers and Complex Heterozygosity in Homeria (Iridaceae). Systematic Botany, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 337–340
  13. Camazine, Scott; Bye, Robert A. (1980). "A Study of the Medical Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico", Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2: 365–388 (p. 373)
  14. "RHS Plant Selector - Iris missouriensis" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.[ permanent dead link ]