OregonFlora: Iris hexagona vs. Iris

	Iris hexagona	Iris
		iris
Habit		Herbs 20–150 cm tall.
Roots		present or not; rhizomes present; bulbs present or not.
Leaves		cauline 0–4, usually similar to basal, subtending each branch, decreasing in length distally, sometimes bract-like and sheathing stem.
Inflorescences		cymes or flowers solitary.
Flowers		perianth united in tube; sepals clawed; signal a ridge, with a line of contrasting colors or a band of multicellular hairs along midline of sepal; filaments free, flattened and appressed to the under surface of style; styles divided into 3 branches; each branch further lobed into 2 petal-like tips; stigma a lip of tissue on abaxial surface of petal-like style.
Fruits		capsules; loculicidal.
Seeds		few to many.

	Iris hexagona	Iris
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Discussion		North America, Eurasia. 280 species; 9 species treated in Flora. Oregon has one exotic member of subgenus Iris (bearded iris; I. germanica). There are seven native species and one exotic member of subgenus Limniris (beardless iris). The Pacific Coast irises (Section Limniris ser. Californicae) is the most species-rich group of Iris in Oregon, represented by I. bracteata, I. chrysophylla, I. douglasiana, I. innominata, and I. tenax. The geographic range of these five species extends into California, and there are an additional six species of Pacific Coast iris that are endemic to California. Hybrids are reported among many pairs of species in section Californicae, making identification of individual plants in areas of sympatry challenging. The other series in section Limniris each have one species in the Oregon flora: series Laevigatae (I. pseudacorus, an exotic species) and series Longipetalae (I. missouriensis, a native species). We have one member of section Lophiris (crested iris), I. tenuis.
Source		Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 259 Ann Willyard
Sibling taxa	I. bracteata, I. chrysophylla, I. douglasiana, I. germanica, I. innominata, I. missouriensis, I. pseudacorus, I. tenax, I. tenuis, I. tenuissima
Subordinate taxa		I. bracteata, I. chrysophylla, I. douglasiana, I. germanica, I. innominata, I. missouriensis, I. pseudacorus, I. tenax, I. tenuis, I. tenuissima
Web links	Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Iris hexagona

Iris

iris

Habit

Herbs 20–150 cm tall.

Roots

present or not;

rhizomes present;

bulbs present or not.

Leaves

cauline 0–4, usually similar to basal, subtending each branch, decreasing in length distally, sometimes bract-like and sheathing stem.

Inflorescences

cymes or flowers solitary.

Flowers

perianth united in tube;

sepals clawed; signal a ridge, with a line of contrasting colors or a band of multicellular hairs along midline of sepal;

filaments free, flattened and appressed to the under surface of style;

styles divided into 3 branches; each branch further lobed into 2 petal-like tips;

stigma a lip of tissue on abaxial surface of petal-like style.

Fruits

capsules; loculicidal.

Seeds

few to many.

Iris hexagona

Iris

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

North America, Eurasia. 280 species; 9 species treated in Flora.

Oregon has one exotic member of subgenus Iris (bearded iris; I. germanica). There are seven native species and one exotic member of subgenus Limniris (beardless iris). The Pacific Coast irises (Section Limniris ser. Californicae) is the most species-rich group of Iris in Oregon, represented by I. bracteata, I. chrysophylla, I. douglasiana, I. innominata, and I. tenax. The geographic range of these five species extends into California, and there are an additional six species of Pacific Coast iris that are endemic to California. Hybrids are reported among many pairs of species in section Californicae, making identification of individual plants in areas of sympatry challenging. The other series in section Limniris each have one species in the Oregon flora: series Laevigatae (I. pseudacorus, an exotic species) and series Longipetalae (I. missouriensis, a native species). We have one member of section Lophiris (crested iris), I. tenuis.