A worldwide genus of rhizomatous and bulbous perennials whose elegant three-part flowers gave their name to a goddess and a heraldic emblem of France.
Where it grows
Bearded irises grow across the temperate Northern Hemisphere, from European hillsides to Iranian roadsides; Siberian and Japanese irises favour wet meadows; Pacific Coast irises hold dry coastal banks; yellow flag (I. pseudacorus) fringes ditches and lakes worldwide as an invasive in some regions.
How to recognise it
The classic iris flower has three drooping outer “falls” and three upright inner “standards.” Bearded forms carry a fuzzy ridge along the falls; beardless forms (Siberian, Japanese, water) do not. Leaves are flat, sword-shaped, and arranged in a fan from a creeping rhizome or true bulb.
Garden & cultural uses
The dried rhizomes of Iris pallida and Iris germanica, aged for three years, become orris root — an essential perfume fixative with a soft violet scent prized in chypres and Italian liqueurs. The flower gave Florence its name, Firenze, and its lily emblem.
In symbolism
Iris was the Greek messenger goddess who travelled on the rainbow. The fleur-de-lis of French heraldry is a stylised iris, not a lily, and adorned royal banners from the twelfth century onwards.
Find more flowers by letter
Iris starts with I and ends with S. Browse other flowers along the same letter.
Flowers that contain a letter from "Iris":