Iris versicolor

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Iris versicolor
Blue Flag, Ottawa.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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. Laevigatae
Species:
I. versicolor
Binomial name
Iris versicolor
L.

Iris versicolor is also commonly known as the blue flag, harlequin blueflag, larger blue flag, northern blue flag, [2] and poison flag, plus other variations of these names, [3] [4] and in Great Britain and Ireland as purple iris. [5]

Contents

It is a species of Iris native to North America, in the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada. It is common in sedge meadows, marshes, and along streambanks and shores. The specific epithet versicolor means "variously coloured". [6]

It is one of the three Iris species in the Iris flower data set outlined by Ronald Fisher in his 1936 paper "The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems" as an example of linear discriminant analysis. [7]

Description

Iris versicolor is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant, growing 10–80 cm (4–31 in) high. () It tends to form large clumps from thick, creeping rhizomes. The unwinged, erect stems generally have basal leaves that are more than 1 cm (12 in) wide. Leaves are folded on the midribs so that they form an overlapping flat fan. The well developed blue flower has 6 petals and sepals spread out nearly flat and have two forms. The longer sepals are hairless and have a greenish-yellow blotch at their base. The inferior ovary is bluntly angled. Flowers are usually light to deep blue (purple and violet are not uncommon) and bloom during May to July. Fruit is a 3-celled, bluntly angled capsule. The large seeds can be observed floating in fall.

Chemical constituents

The species has been implicated in several poisoning cases of humans and animals who consumed the rhizomes, which have been found to contain a glycoside, iridin. The sap can cause dermatitis in susceptible individuals.[ citation needed ]

Toxicity and uses

Both the leaves and roots are poisonous, and can cause stomach and intestinal inflammation. Consuming the plant can be fatal to calves. [8]

The iris has been used as magical plant, with people carrying the root (or rhizome) to get 'financial gain', or placed in cash registers to increase business. [9]

Symbolism

The iris is the official state flower of the U.S. state of Tennessee. This designation was made in 1933 by the state legislature. Although the law does not specifically define a type of iris, it is generally accepted that the purple iris is the state flower. [10]

The blue flag has been the provincial flower of Quebec since 1999, having replaced the Madonna lily which is not native to the province. [11] [12]

The purple iris is the official flower of Kappa Pi International Honorary Art Fraternity. [13]

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>Trillium grandiflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium grandiflorum, the white trillium, large-flowered trillium, great white trillium, white wake-robin or French: trille blanc, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. A monocotyledonous, herbaceous perennial, the plant is native to eastern North America, from northern Quebec to the southern parts of the United States through the Appalachian Mountains into northernmost Georgia and west to Minnesota. There are also several isolated populations in Nova Scotia, Maine, southern Illinois, and Iowa.

<i>Lilium candidum</i> Species of lily

Lilium candidum, the Madonna lily or white lily, is a plant in the true lily family. It is native to the Balkans and Middle East, and naturalized in other parts of Europe, including France, Italy, and Ukraine, and in North Africa, the Canary Islands, Mexico, and other regions. It has been cultivated since antiquity, for at least 3,000 years, and has great symbolic value since then for many cultures. It is susceptible to several virus diseases common to lilies, and especially to Botrytis fungus. One technique to avoid problems with viruses is to grow plants from seed instead of bulblets.

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

Iris giganticaerulea, the giant blue iris, is a species of iris, in the subgenus Limniris, in the series Hexagonae. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from northern America. It has long bright green leaves, very tall stems and one or two musky fragrant flowers in a range of blue shades or rarely white.

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

Iris lacustris, the dwarf lake iris, is a plant species in the genus Iris, subgenus Limniris and in the section Lophiris. It is a rhizomatous, beardless perennial plant, native to the Great Lakes region of eastern North America. It has lavender blue or violet-blue flowers, a very short stem and long fan-like green leaves. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It is closely related to Iris cristata.

<i>Symphyotrichum laeve</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America

Symphyotrichum laeve is a flowering plant native to Canada, the United States, and Coahuila (Mexico). It has the common names of smooth blue aster, smooth aster, smooth-leaved aster, glaucous Michaelmas-daisy and glaucous aster.

<i>Iris tenax</i> Species of tree

Iris tenax is a species of Iris, known by the common names tough-leaved iris, Oregon iris, or more colloquially, flag.

<i>Nymphaea nouchali</i> Species of aquatic plant

Nymphaea nouchali, often known by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, or by common names blue lotus, star lotus, red water lily, dwarf aquarium lily, blue water lily, blue star water lily or manel flower, is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. It is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is the national flower of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In Sanskrit it is called utpala. This species is usually considered to include the blue Egyptian lotus N. nouchali var. caerulea. In the past, taxonomic confusion has occurred, with the name Nymphaea nouchali incorrectly applied to Nymphaea pubescens.

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

Iris virginica, with the common name Virginia blueflag, Virginia iris, great blue flag, or southern blue flag, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the Iridaceae (iris) family, native to central and eastern North America.

<i>Iris <span style="font-style:normal;">ser.</span> Laevigatae</i> Group of flowering plants

Iris ser. Laevigatae is a series of the genus Iris, in Iris subg. Limniris.

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

Iris setosa, the bristle-pointed iris, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Iris of the family Iridaceae, it belongs the subgenus Limniris and the series Tripetalae. It is a rhizomatous perennial from a wide range across the Arctic sea, including Alaska, Maine, Canada, Russia, northeastern Asia, China, Korea and southwards to Japan. The plant has tall branching stems, mid green leaves and violet, purple-blue, violet-blue, blue, to lavender flowers. There are also plants with pink and white flowers.

<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 brevicaulis</i> Species of flowering plant

Iris brevicaulis is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Limniris and in the series Hexagonae. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from North America. It has bright green, glossy long leaves, a long zig-zagged stem and 3–6 flowers per stem, which are come in blue shades from violet-blue, to lavender, to purple-blue, to bright blue to blue, and pale blue.

Iris nelsonii is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Limniris and in the series hexagonae. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from northern America. It has long drooping, grass-like leaves, tall stems, 10 red-purple flowers.

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

Iris glaucescens is a plant species in the genus Iris and subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, found in Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. It has blue-grey sickle-shaped leaves, slender stem, and spring flowers in blue-violet, pale violet, lilac-purple, to deep purple, to light bluish, and almost white shades. It is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It was merged with another similar iris in the region, and became a synonym of Iris scariosa, before being divided into two separate species again, although some sources still call it a synonym of Iris scariosa.

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

Iris scariosa is a plant species in the genus Iris; it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial from the mountainsides of Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. It has sword-like, or sickle shaped, blue green or grey-green leaves, a short flowering stem, 3 or 4 membranous or semi-transparent flower bud leaves, 2 violet, reddish violet, lilac, blue-purple, or blue flowers in late spring, with yellow or white beards. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It was merged with another similar iris in the region, and Iris glaucescens became a synonym of Iris scariosa, before being divided into two separate species again. Although some sources still call it the main species, despite a slight colour difference.

Iris hellenica is a plant species in the genus Iris and the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Saitas Mountain, in the Peloponnese Region of Greece. It has grey-green, sickle-shaped leaves, a tall slender stem, 2–3 white, lavender-blue, lilac or purple flowers and orange/purple beards. It was thought once to be a hybrid species of Iris germanica which also grows in the same area, before being separated into 2 species. It has only recently been published and is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

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

Iris subbiflora is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Portugal and Spain in Europe. It has evergreen broad leaves, forming dense clumps, it has dwarf stems in late spring,, with 1 upright fragrant flower, in shades of purple, light red purple, grey-blue, blue-violet, or dark violet. It has a beard which is generally blue, purple, or violet, but can fade to white, dull yellow, or dark yellow. After being found in 1804, it was once a separate species until the late 70s, when it was reclassified as subspecies of Iris lutescens, and renamed Iris lutescens subsp. subbiflora. But in the 80s it was returned to an independent species but some authors and references still class the species as a synonym or subspecies. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

<i>Symphyotrichum ontarionis</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern and central North America

Symphyotrichum ontarionis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern North America. Commonly known as Ontario aster and bottomland aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach heights of 120 centimeters. Each flower head has many tiny florets put together into what appear as one.

References

  1. Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Iris versicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T64315086A67729756. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64315086A67729756.en . Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  2. ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, 2004.
  3. Muma, Walter. "Blue Flag Iris". Ontario Wildflowers. ontariowildflowers.com. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  4. Thomas Lathrop Stedman (editor) Stedman's Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing , p. 406, at Google Books
  5. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  6. Stearn, W.T. (2004). Botanical Latin (4th (p/b) ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 527. ISBN   978-0-7153-1643-6.
  7. R. A. Fisher (1936). "The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems" (PDF). Annals of Eugenics . 7 (2): 179–188. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1809.1936.tb02137.x. hdl: 2440/15227 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  8. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 261. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.
  9. Cunningham, Scott (1999). Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs . Llewellyn. p.  168. ISBN   0-87542-122-9.
  10. "State of Tennessee". state.tn.us.
  11. (in French) Gouvernement du Québec Emblèmes du Québec - Iris versicolor Archived 2015-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Harlequin blue flag (Iris versicolor), our floral emblem". Espace pour la Vie Montréal. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  13. Article I, Section 2. "International Constitution of Kappa Pi" (PDF). Kappa Pi International Honorary Art Fraternity Inc.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[ permanent dead link ]
  14. "Emblems of Quebec". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024. There are three official emblems in Quebec: the yellow birch, the snowy owl and the versicolor iris.